THE  GIFT  OF 

FLORENCE  V.  V.  DICKEY 

TO  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  DONALD  R.  DICKEY 

LIBRARY 
OF  VERTEBRATE  ZOOLOGY 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CLASSICS 
AND  SCHOOL  READINGS 


.UNDER   THE   EDITORIAL,  SUPERVISION   OF 

W.  M.  DAVIDSON 

SUPERINTENDENT   OF   THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   TOPEKA,    KANSAS 


' 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS 


TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CLASSICS  AND  SCHOOL  READINGS 


OF    KANSAS 


BY 

BENJAMIN   F.  ^EYER 

Teacher  in  Science,  Topeka  High  School. 


Think,  every  morning  when  the  sun  peeps  through 
The  dim,  leaf-latticed  windows  of  the  grove, 
How  jubilant  the  happy  birds  renew 
Their  old,  melodious  madrigals -of  love. 
And  when  you  think  of  this,  remember  too 
'Tis  always  morning  somewhere,  and  above 
The  awakening  continents,  from  shore  to  shore, 
Somewhere  the  birds  are  singing  evermore. 

— Longfellow. 


CRANE  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 
TOPEKA,  KANSAS 


Copyrighted  by 

CRANE  &  COMPANY,  Topeka,  Kansas 
1900 


0L 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  You  must  have  the  bird  in  your  heart  before  you  can  find  it 
in  the  bush  ;  and  when  once  you  have  it  in  your  heart  the  finding 
of  it  in  the  bush  is  a  secondary  matter," — John  Burroughs. 

We  may  with  profit  take  a  look  at  the  life  and  ways  of 
some  ot  our  common  birds,  and  study  with  a  growing 
interest  a  few  of  the  parts  that  characterize  them  and 
that  fit  them  so  perfectly  for  their  life  in  the  air.  There 
is  a  perpetual  interest  centering  in  the  study  of  the 
adaptation  and  fitness  of  the  varied  forms  of  life  as  it 
may  be  seen  about  every  home,  "be  it  ever  so  humble," 
and  that,  too,  with  no  other  equipment  than  one's  eyes 
and  patience. 

Fortunate  is  that  person  whose  home  or  school  life  has 
been  of  such  a  character  as  to  develop  a  love  for  the 
beautiful  in  nature.  He  may  drink  from  the  same  foun- 
tain with  poets  and  artists,  and  picture  to  himself  the 
greatest  works  of  art,  and  read  first  hand  the  most  beau- 
tiful poems  in  all  the  realms  of  literature. 

"  So  it  is  with  everything;  so  it  is  with  the  birds.  The 
interest  they  excite  is  of  all  grades,  from  that  which  looks 
upon  them  as  items  of  millinery,  up  to  that  of  the  makers 
of  ornithological  systems,  and  who  ransack  the  world  for 
specimens,  and  who  have  no  doubt  that  the  chief  end  of  a 
bird  is  to  be  named  and  catalogued  —  the  more  synonyms 
the  better.  Somewhere  between  these  two  extremes 
comes  the  person  whose  interest  in  birds  is  friendly  rather 
than  scientific ;  who  has  little  taste  for  shooting,  and 
lass  for  dissecting ;  who  delights  in  the  living  creatures 
(5) 


6  INTRODUCTION 

themselves,  and  counts  a  bird  in  the  bush  worth  two  in 
the  hand.  Such  a  person,  if  he  is  intelligent,  makes  good 
use  of  the  best  works  on  ornithology;  he  would  not  know 
how  to  get  along  without  them ;  but  he  studies  most  the 
birds  themselves,  and  after  awhile  he  begins  to  associate 
them  on  a  plan  of  his  own.  Not  that  he  mistrusts  the 
approximate  correctness  of  the  received  classification,  or 
ceases  to  find  it  of  daily  service ;  but'  though  it  were  as 
accurate  as  the  multiplication  table,  it  is  based  (and 
rightly,  no  doubt)  on  anatomical  structure  alone;  it  rates 
birds  as  bodies,  and  nothing  else;  while  to  the  person  of 
whom  we  are  speaking,  birds  are,  first  of  all,  souls;  his 
interest  in  them  is,  as  we  say,  personal ;  and  we  are 
none  of  us  in  the  habit  of  grouping  our  friends  according 
to  height,  or  complexion,  or  any  other  physical  pecu- 
liarity." 

The  bright  plumage  and  sweet,  cheery  song  of  the  bird 
fills  every  heart  with  pleasure,  unuttered,  perhaps,  or 
expressed  in  such  words  as  Bryant's  " To  a  Waterfowl:" 

Whither,  'midst  falling  dew, 

While  glow  the  heavens  with  the  last  steps  of  day, 
Far,  through  their  rosy  depths,  dost  thou  pursue 

Thy  solitary  way? 

Vainly  the  fowler's  eye 

Might  mark  thy  distant  flight  to  do  thee  wrong, 
As,  darkly  seen  against  the  crimson  sky, 

Thy  figure  floats  along. 

Seek  'st  thou  the  plashy  brink 

Of  weedy  lake,  or  marge  of  river  wide, 
Or  where  the  rocking  billows  rise  and  sink 

On  the  chafed  ocean  side  ? 

There  is  a  Power  whose  care 
Teaches  thy  way  along  that  pathless  coast, 

The  desert  and  illimitable  air, 
Lone  wandering,  but  not  lost. 


INTRODUCTION 

All  day  thy  wings  have  fann'd, 

At  that  far  height,  the  cold,  thin  atmosphere, 
Yet  stoop  not,  weary,  to  the  welcome  land, 

Though  the  dark  night  is  near. 

And  soon  that  toil  shall  end  ; 

Soon  shalt  thou  find  a  summer  home  and  rest, 
And  scream  among  thy  fellows  ;  reeds  shall  bend 

Soon  o'er  thy  sheltered  nest. 

Thou  'rt  gone,  the  abyss  of  heaven 

Hath  swallowed  up  thy  form ;  yet,  on  my  heart, 
Deeply  hath  sunk  the  lesson  thou  hast  given, 

And  shall  not  soon  depart. 

He,  who,  from  zone  to  zone, 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 

Will  lead  my  steps  aright. 


BIRDS   OF   KANSAS. 


THE  PLUMAGE. 

In  the  spring  a  fuller  crimson  comes  upon  the  robin's  breast ; 
In  the  spring  the  wanton  lapwing  gets  himself  another  crest ; 
In  the  spring  a  livelier  iris  changes  on  the  burnished  dove. 

—  Tennyson. 

The  eye  never  tires  of  watching  the  easy,  graceful  flight 
of  the  bird  as  it  makes  a  trackless  path  in  the  air,  some- 
times far  above  the  hills  and  valleys,  as  the  hawk  or 
eagle,  having  always  before  it  a  view,  magnificent.  No 
other  animal  that  flies  does  so  by  any  such  apparatus 
as  the  bird  employs.  Flight  in  the  bird  is  made  pos- 
sible by  means  of  outgrowths  of  the  skin  —  the  feathers. 
When  they  are  removed  from  a  wing  it  looks  more  like 
an  arm  than  an  organ  of  flight,  and,  indeed,  it  is  but  the 
fore-limb  of  the  bird,  and  is  almost  like  the  arm  of 
man.  The  wing  of  a  chicken,  as  it  appears  on  the 
table,  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  for  comparison. 
.The  feathers  that  grow  on  the  wing  convert  it  into  a 
more  useful  instrument  than  an  arm  would  be  in  the 
life  of  a  bird.  The  large  feathers  of  the  wing  have  a 
wider  web  on  the  inner  side  of  the  shaft  than  on  the 
outer.  This  is  because  the  inner  web  underlies  the  next 
inner  feather  and  gives  a  firm  resisting  surface  against 
which  the  air  reacts  to  support  the  bird  in  the  air.  The 
webs  of  the  large,  strong  feathers  of  the  wing  and  tail  can 
be  separated  into  many  small,  thread-like  parts  (barbs) 
(9) 


10  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

attached  to  the  large  central  shaft  that  extends  the  entire 
length  of  the  feather.  The  barbs  interlock  with  each 
other  by  means  of  still  smaller  parts  growing  out  from 
them,  giving  the  web  a  remarkable  firmness.  The  inner 
end  of  the  feather  terminates  in  the  quill,  which  is  con- 
nected with  the  blood-vessels  of  the  skin  that  supply  it 
with  nourishment.  They  are  moved  by  muscles  just  un- 
der the  skin  and  have  a  limited  period  of  growth,  when 
they  fall  out  and  new  ones  appear.  This  gives  rise  to 
the  annual  (sometimes  oftener)  moult.  The  duck  family 
lose  their  wing-feathers  nearly  all  at  the  same  time  and 
are  hence  unable  to  fly  for  a  time. 

Feathers  do  not  all  answer  to  the  above  description. 
Some,  under  the  outer  layer,  are  soft  and  fluffy  because 
the  barbs  of  the  web  are  not  bound  together  by  the  little 
hooks  which  we  found  on  the  wing-feathers.  These  are 
called  down-feathers.  Then  there  are  the  long  hair-like 
forms  plainly  seen  after  "  picking  "  a  chicken,  and  which 
are  removed  by  singeing.  These  are  called  hairy  feath- 
ers, because  they  look  so  much  like  hairs. 

A  singular  fact  about  the.  arrangement  of  feathers  is 
that  they  do  not  grow  from  every  part  of  the  skin  that  is 
apparently  covered  by  them,  but  grow  in. tracts,  so  that 
there  are  feather  tracts  and  bare  tracts.  "If  we  com- 
pare a  bird's  skin  to  a  well-kept  park,  part  woodland, 
part  lawn,  where -they  do  not  grow  is  the  lawn."  The. 
ostrich  and  penguin  are  exceptions  to  this,  for  they  have 
a  continuous  feathering  on  every  part  of  the  skin. 

We  are  quite  sure,  too,  that  the  bird's  coat  is  warm, 
making  an  excellent  wrap.  It  serves  him  in  this  quite  as 
well  as  in  flying,  for  his  heart  beats  much  faster  than  ours 
and  he  requires  more  oxygen  in  proportion  to  his  size  than 
we  do ;  and  were  it  not  for  this  warm  coat,  much  of  his 
heat  would  be  lost. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  11 

The  irregularities  of  the  body  are  filled  up  and  made 
smooth,  so  that  it  offers  the  least  amount  of  resistance 
when  passing  through  the  air.  No  matter  how  great  the 
exertion,  there  is  no  perspiration.  Perhaps  it  is  because 
perspiration  would  cool  the  body  too  much  by  evapora- 
tion or  cause  the  feathers  to  mat,  and  thus  seriously  in- 
terfere with  flight: 


BEAKS  AND  CLAWS. 

You  slay  them  all !  and  wherefore  ?  for  the  gain 
Of  a  scant  handful  more  or  less  of  wheat, 

Or  rye,  or  barley,  or  some  other  grain, 
Scratched  up  at  random  by  industrious  feet, 

Searching  for  worm  or  weevil  after  rain  ! 

— Longfellow. 

Beaks  and  claws  are  more  strikingly  diversified  than 
any  other  parts  of  the  body,  because  they  are  so  closely 
identified  with  the  daily  necessities  of  life.  They  are  the 
bird's  best  helpers  —  his  hands  and  feet;  and  it  is  not  at 
all  unlikely  that  these  parts  alone  can  tell  us  a  good  deal 
about  bird- way s. 

Downy's  beak  is  so  sharp  and  chisel-like  that,  guided  by 
a  sharp  eye  and  active  head,  it  soon  digs  a  comfortable 
home  in  the  old  dead  limb.  The  hammering  of  the 
Flicker  in  early  spring  is  a  most  familiar  sound.  A 
number  of  these  birds  frequented  a  group  of  large  cot- 
tonwood  trees  every  year,  where  they  regularly  nested. 
Early  in  the  season  they  would  be  on  hand,  drumming 
merrily  on  the  dry  limbs  of  the  old  trees  and  calling 
loudly  to  their  mates.  These  were  familiar  sounds  in  the 
warm,  bright  days  of  April.  No  spring  day  in  the  woods 
would  be  complete  without  the  musical  drumming  of  the 
Woodpecker. 

What  sort  of  a  foot  would  be 
needed  for  such  a  climbing, 
pecking  bird  ?  When  linemen 
who  are  sent  out  to  repair  tele- 
graph lines  need  to  climb  to  the 
top  of  a  tall  pole,  they  buckle 

(12) 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  13 

on  their  feet  a  pair  of  iron  claws  that  can  be  thrust  into 
the  wood,  yet  not  without  fear  of  slipping.  The  Wood- 
pecker has  no  such  fear.  His  toes  are  arranged  in  pairs, 
with  sharp  claws,  two  in  front  and  two  behind,  which  bite 
into  the  bark  or  wood  and  insure  "  good  footing." 

But  we  must  not  conclude  that  all  birds  that  climb 
will  have  yoke-toes  like  the  Woodpecker,  for  the  Nut- 
hatches and  Creepers  have  a  foot  more  like  a  robin. 

The  fish-hooks  that  fill  so  large  a  place  in  the  life  of  a 
boy  when  the  ice  has  cleared  from  the  creeks  and  the  days 
are  warm  and  inviting,  are  not  unlike  the  instruments 
used  by  one  of  our  American  birds,  the  Osprey  or  Fish- 
hawk,  for  the  same  purpose.  (  See  cut  No.  2.)  The  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  Osprey  is  given  by  Wilson : 

"The  flight  of  the  Fish-hawk,  his  maneuvers  while  in 
search  of  fish,  and  his  manner  of  seizing  his  prey,  are  de- 
serving of  particular  notice.  In  leaving  the  nest  he  usu- 
ally flies  direct  till  he  comes  to  the  sea,  then  sails  around 
in  many  curving  lines,  turning  sometimes  in  the  air  as  on 
a  pivot,  apparently  without  the  least  exertion,  rarely  mov- 
ing his  wings,  his  legs  extended  in  a  straight  line  behind, 
and  his  remarkable  length  and  curvature,  or  bend  of  wing, 
distinguishes  him  from  all  other  hawks.  The  height  at 
which  he  thus  elegantly  glides  is  various,  from  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  fifty  and  two  hundred  feet,  sometimes 
much  higher,  all  the  while  calmly  reconnoitering  the  face 
of  the  deep  below.  Suddenly  he  is  seen  to  check  his 
course,  as  if  struck  by  a  particular  object,  which  he  seems 
to  survey  for  a  few  moments  with  such  steadiness  that  he 
appears  fixed  in  the  air,  flapping  his  wings.  This  object, 
however,  he  abandons,  or  rather,  the  fish  he  had  in  his 
eye  disappeared,  and  he  is  again  seen  sailing  around  as 
before.  Now  his  attention  is  again  arrested,  and  he  de- 
scends with  great  rapidity,  but  ere  he  reaches  the  surface, 


14 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


shoots  off  on  another  course,  as  if  ashamed  that  a  second 
victim  has  escaped  him.  He  now  sails  at  a  short  height 
above  the  surface,  and  by  a  zig-zag  descent,  and  with- 
out seeming  to  dip  his  feet  in  the  water,  seizes  a  fish, 
which,  after  carrying  a  short  distance,  he  probably  drops, 
or  yields  up  to  the  Bald  Eagle,  and  again  ascends  by  easy 
spiral  circles  to  the  higher  regions  of  the  air,  where  he 
glides  about  in  all  the  ease  and  majesty  of  his  species. 
At  once,  from  this  sublime  aerial  height,  he  descends  like 
a  perpendicular  torrent,  plunging  into  the  sea  with  a  loud, 
rushing  sound,  and  with  the  certainty  of  a  rifle.  In  a  few 
moments  he  emerges,  bearing  in  his  claws  his  struggling 
prey,  which  he  always  carries  head  foremost,  and,  having 
risen  a  few  feet  above  the  surface,  shakes  himself  as  a 
water-spaniel  would  do,  and  directs  his  heavy,  laborious 
course  directly  for  the  land." 

It  will  eat  nothing  but  live  fish,  and  will  not,  it  is  said, 
pick  up  one  that  is  accidentally  dropped  from  its  talons. 
All  of  our  hawks  and  owls  have  a  well- 
developed  seizing,  or  raptorial  foot  (see 
cut  No.  8),  which  is  also  adapted  for 
perching,  and  to  work  with  it  there  is  a 
strong    hooked    beak 
(see  cut  No.  1),  fitted 
for   tearing    tough 
skins  and  flesh.     The 
eye,  too,  as  a  helper 
to  beak  and  claws,  is 
large  and  sharp,  and 
can  detect  a  moving  animal   suitable 
for  food  at  long  distances. 

A  number  of  young  hawks  were  once 
taken  by  the  writer,  and  an  attempt 
made  to  tame  them.  They  were  carried  from  the  place  of 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS 


15 


capture,  a  mile  distant,  on  a  stick  to  which  they  held  by 
their  claws.  They  would  eat  bits  of  meat  and  live  mice 
with  the  greatest  relish.  When  a  dog  or  cat  came  too 
near,  an  encounter  of  claws  and  fur  was  sure  to  result. 
A  curious  habit  with  them  was  that  of  placing  themselves 
upon  their  backs  when  they  were  suddenly  attacked,  and 
fighting  with  feet  uppermost.  It  was  a  sad  day  for  the 
dog  who  got  his  nose  too  near  their  unerring  talons. 

At  another  time  a  nest  containing  young,  high  up  on  an 
overhanging  limb  of  a  cotton  wood  tree,  was  approached. 
The  parent  bird  promptly  came  upon  the  scene  and  re- 
fused to  leave,  although  not  actually  attacking  the 
intruder.  They  were,  to  say  the  least,  exceedingly  tame. 

There  is  another  fisherman  better  known  to  us  than  the 
Osprey.  He  justly  deserves  the  name  he  bears — King- 
fisher. He  flies  up  and  down  our  larger  creeks  and  rivers, 
sure  to  know  where  fish  may  be  taken  in  season  and  out. 
His  legs  are  very  short  and 
hardly  used  for  walking.  The 
outer  and  inner  toes  are  grown 
together,  making  a  flat  sole  upon 
which  he  can  comfortably  sit 
on  the  limb  of  a  tree  overhang- 
ing a  stream,  watching,  waiting. 
(  See  cut  No.  5. )  He  spies  a  fish 
below  him.  Down  he  goes  with 
a  harsh  sound,  a  hungry  chuckle,  and  with  his  long  sharp 
bill  catches  his  victim,  even  plunging  into  the  water  after 
it.  If  the  fish  is  small,  he  swallows  it  at  once.  If  too 
large  for  this,  he  carries  it  away  to  his  favorite  perch  and 
beats  it  soft  against  a  limb. 

In  this,  type  it  is  the  beak  that  is  especially  adapted  for 
fishing,  and  not  the  claws.  He  cannot  tear  the  fish  to 
pieces,  as  does  the  Hawk,  for  his  bill  is  straight  and 


16 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


sharp-pointed,  but  must  swallow  it  whole.     Imagine  what 
a  time  he  must  have  if  his  capture  is  over-large  I 

This  may  remind  you  of  another  fisherman  frequenting 
our  ponds  and  marshes  —  the  Heron  —  that  has  a  longer 
bill  (see  cut  No.  3,  bill )  than 
the  Kingfisher,  and  long  stilt- 
like  legs.    This  spear-man  —  for 

•^~ — -  ' ~      "    such   he   really  is  —  can  fly  as 

well  as  the  Kingfisher,  but  he 

does  not  need  to  fly  down  after  the  fish,  frogs  and  other 
water  animals  he  considers  palatable.  He  wades  out  into 
the  water  among  the  grasses  and  rushes  and 
waits  with  much  patience  for  his  food  to 
come  near  him.  (  See  cut  No.  1.)  If  you 
were  to  steal  near  enough  to  one  you  would 
surely  think  him  asleep.  But  wait! — here 
comes  a  lunch  dangerously  near.  All  has 
changed ;  with  great  rapidity  he  darts  his 
bill  into  the  water,  and  if  it  is  a  fish,  swal- 
lows it  headforemost,  so  that  the  spines  will 
not  interfere.  If  not  caught  so  that  it  can 
be  swallowed  that  way,  it  is  tossed  into  the  air  and  again 
caught. 

This  type  is  called  the  walking  or  ivading  foot.  It  has 
not  the  grasping  power  of  the  Hawk's  foot,  and  has  a 
small  web  between  the  outer  and  middle  toes. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  read  the  story  of  a  foot  where  the 
toes  are  connected  by  a  web.  It  looks  so  much  like  a 
paddle  that  it  would  at  once  be  associated  with  the  water. 
They  are  not  at  all  like  the  feet  we  have  already  examined. 
The  hand  function  of  grasping  has  been  lost,  and  they  are 
not  so  well  fitted  for  walking,  as  one  can  see  by  the 
clumsy,  awkward  steps  of  the  Ducks  and  Geese*.  There 
are  several  kinds  of  the  swimming  foot.  The  Pelican  has 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS 


17 


the  three  toes  in  front  and  the 
hind  toe,  all  joined  together  by 
a  web  (toti-palmate)  (see  cut 
No.  4)  ;  the  Ducks  and  Geese 
have  the  three  front  toes  only 
united  (palmate)  (see  cut  No. 
2);  while  in  the  "  Mud  Hen," 
"  Coot,"  each  toe  has  a  separate 

lobed  membrane  on  it  (lobed). 
(See  cut  No.  3). 

A  type  that  must  not  be 
overlooked  is  the  perching 
foot  (  see  cut  No.  1  )  of  the 
song  birds,  of  which  those  of 
"Downy,"  the  Kingfisher 
and  the  Hawk  are  varieties 
adapted  for  special  uses.  The 
toes  of  the  robin  are  entirely 
separate.  They  are  all  on  the 
same  level,  and  the  hind  toe  is 
long,  in  order  to  more  effectually 
grasp  a  twig.  The  toes  do  not 
spread  out  so  much  as  in  the 
Hawk,  nor  are  they  so  rough  on 

the  under  surface.    This  is  the  perch- 
ing foot.     ( See  cut  No.  1 ) . 

To  sum  up,  then,  we  have  noticed 
three  principal  kinds  of  feet, — the 
perching,  the  walking  or  wading, 
and  the  swimming. 

A  bird  that    finds    its   particular 
kind  of  food  from  the  water's  edge, 
or  on  the  bottom  where  the  water  is 
shallow,  needs  a  wide  bill  with  an 
—  2 


18 


TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 


arrangement  to  let  the  water  escape  (  see  cut  No.  1 )  that 
was  taken  up  with  the  food.  This  is  the  plan  in  the 
ducks  and  geese,  where  the 
edges  of  the  bill  are  finely 
ridged. 

The  Nighthawk, —  w  h  i  c  h  is 
not  one  of  the  Hawk  family  at 
all, — like  the  Whippoorwill,  its 
nearest  relative,  comes  out 
bright  and  active  about  twilight  in  search  of  its  favorite 
insect  food.  A  look  at  its  bill  would  at  once  convince 
you  that  it  is  neither  a  fisherman,  a  seed-eater,  nor 
a  bird  of  prey,  for  its  bill  is  very  small.  What  is  lack- 
ing in  this  respect,  however,  is  made  up  in  the  size  of 
the  mouth,  which  opens  widely,  making  a  splendid  trap 
for  the  moths,  and  other  night-flying  insects,  which  it 
eats.  The  wing,  too,  is  long,  giving  the  bird  speed  and 
agility. 

In  the  Whippoorwill,  the  mouth  is  thickly  set  with 
long  bristles  that  assist  in  trapping  the  luckless  insect. 
(See  cut  No.  4.)  On  such  journeys 
the  Whippoorwills  frequently  approach 
houses,  and,  regardless  of  their  sur- 
roundings, sing  with  remarkable  clear- 
ness and  power. 

The  Swallows  are  another  family  of 
insect-eaters.  They,  too,  have  a  small 
bill  and  large  mouth.  Small  as  is  the 
bill,  one  of  our  Swallows  (Barn  Swal- 
low )  makes  a  kind  of  hod  of  it,  in  which  he  carries  pel- 
lets of  mud  for  his  nest. 

Along  the  banks  of  a  small  pond  a  large  number  of 
dead,  but  recently  tenanted,  snail-shells  could  be  seen, 
and  in  the  shallow  water  the  live  ones  were  abundant. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS 


19 


The  tracks  on  the  bank  all  about  gave  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  the  cause  —  the  Sandpiper,  a  shore  bird  with 
wading  legs  and  long,  pointed  beak,  which  he  had  used 
to  take  the  shells  out  of  the  water,  and  had  then  picked 
out  their  tender  flesh,  leaving  the  empty  shells  along  the 
shore. 

Some  of  the  Snipes  use  their  long,  flexible  beaks  to 
probe  into  the  soft  mud  in 
search  of  worms  (see.  cut  No. 
3),  which  they  are  often  able 
to  trace  by  means  of  the  sen- 
sitive tip  of  the  beak. 

The  seed-eating  birds  —  Sparrow,  Quail,  and  Chicken — 
have  a  somewhat  cone-shaped  bill,  very  strong,  and  with 
sharp  cutting  edges. 

The  tongues  are  not  without  interest,  although  not  usu- 
ally noticed.  The  Woodpecker  has  a  long,  barbed  tongue 
tipped  with  a  horny  spine.  This  he  shoots  out  with  won- 
derful precision,  as  the  following  incident  related  by  Bur- 
roughs of  a  tame  "  high-hole  "  (  Flicker)  will  show: 

"  Did  you  ever  notice  that  the  high-hole  never  eats  any- 
thing that  he  cannot  pick  up  with  his  tongue  ?  At  least 
this  was  the  case  with  a  young  one  I  took  from  the  nest 
and  tamed.  He  could  thrust  out  his  tongue  two  or  three 
inches,  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  his  efforts  to  eat  cur- 
rants from  the  hand.  He  would  run  out  his  tongue  and 
try  to  stick  it  to  the  currant;  failing  in  that,  he  would 
bend  his  tongue  around  it  like  a  hook  and  try  to  raise  it 
by  a  sudden  jerk.  But  he  never  succeeded,  the  round 
fruit  would  roll  and  slip  away  every  time.  He  never 
seemed  to  think  of  taking  it  in  his  beak.  His  tongue 
was  in  constant  use  to  find  out  the  nature  of  everything 
he  saw;  a  nail-hole  in  a  board,  or  any  similar  hole,  was 
carefully  explored.  If  he  was  held  near  the  face,  he 


20  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

would  soon  be  attracted  by  the  eye  and  thrust  his  tongue 
into  it.  In  this  way  he  gained  the  respect  of  a  number 
of  half-grown  cats  that  were  around  the  house. 

"I  wished  to  make  them  familiar  with  each  other,  so 
there  would  be  less  danger  of  their  killing  him.  So  I 
would  take  them  both  on  my  knees,  when  the  bird  would 
soon  notice  the  kitten's  eyes,  and  leveling  his  bill  as  care- 
fully as  a  marksman  levels  his  rifle,  he  would  remain  so  a 
minute,  when  he  would  dart  his  tongue  into  the  cat's  eye. 
This  was  held  by  the  cats  to  be  very  mysterious ;  being 
struck  in  the  eye  by  something  invisible  to  them.  They 
soon  acquired  such  a  terror  of  him  that  they  would  avoid 
him  and  run  away  whenever  they  saw  his  bill  turned  in 
their  direction.  He  never  would  swallow  a  grasshopper, 
even  when  it  was  placed  in  his  throat ;  he  would  shake 
himself  until  he  had  thrown  it  out  of  his  mouth.  His 
'  best  hold '  was  ants.  He  never  was  surprised  at  any- 
thing, and  never  was  afraid  of  anything.  He  would  drive 
the  turkey  gobbler  and  the  rooster.  I  would  turn  over 
the  stones  and  dig  into  ant-hills  for  him,  and  he  would 
lick  up  the  ants  so  fast  that  a  stream  of  them  seemed  go- 
ing into  his  mouth  unceasingly." 

The  Hummingbird  that,  like  the  butterfly,  sips  nectar, 
has  a  "  double-barreled  tongue — two  tubes  placed  side  by 
side,  serving  as  siphons  to  extract  the  nectar  of  flowers." 

Ducks  and  Geese  have  a  large,  fleshy  tongue,  while  the 
Kingfisher  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  one  at  all. 

Besides  the  use  of  bills  as  hands  to  supply  the  needs  of 
the  body,  they  are  extremely  useful  tools  with  which  to 
construct  the  home  —  the  object  of  so  much  care  and 
anxiety  to  the  parent  birds.  We  are  hardly  aware  of  the 
great  number  of  nests  near  at  hand  till  winter  robs  them 
of  their  leafy  screen.  Then  we  see  how  skillfully  the 
little  builders  have  hidden  their  homes  from  the  weather 
and  their  numerous  enemies. 


BIRDS  OF  KAHSAS 


21 


With  the  beaks,  also,  the  feathers  are  neatly  combed 
and  smoothed.  When  they  wish  to  oil  their  feathers  they 
squeeze  a  drop  of  oil  out  of  the  oil-can  at  the  root  of  the 
tail,  and  then,  passing  the  feathers  through  the  beak,  oil 
and  smooth  them.  The  oil  gland  is  always  found  in 
waterfowls,  that  need  to  have  a  water-proof  plumage. 


Awl-shaped  bill  of  Humming  Bird. 


Fishing  bill  of  Pelican,  showing  large  pouch. 


TRAVELING  AND  WOOING. 

In  sunshine  and  tempest,  the  seasons  go  by  ; 
The  orchards  of  April  grow  warm  to  the  eye  ; 
More  joyful  than  daylight,  the  beauty  they  bring  — 
The  first  of  Auroras,  the  presage  of  spring ! 
Across  the  bright  vista  of  hillside  and  plain 
The  note  of  the  wood-dove  falls  mellow  as  rain  ; 
The  snows  are  retreating, 
The  river  runs  clear, — 
Then  list  to  the  greeting,  and  blessed  be  the  year ! 

— Dora  Read  Goodale. 

We  may  divide  our  birds,  according  to  their  habits  of 
travel,  into  summer  birds,  winter  birds,  and  resident 
birds.  Before  the  frost  and  snows  of  winter  lock  up  the 
favorite  food  of  our  summer  songsters,  they  are  away  for 
the  warm  sunny  climes  of  the  South,  where  their  food  can 
be  easily  obtained.  Here  they  remain  till  the  northern 
winter  is  past  and  the  bright,  warm  sunshine  of  spring  is 
opening  the  winter  home  of  the  insect  and  making  the 
frozen  earth  alive  again.  Were  it  not  for  the  scarcity 'of 
food  in  winter  and  the  cold,  the  birds  would  no  doubt  re- 
main during  the  year  in  those  localities  where  they  now 
find  it  agreeable  to  nest.  We  have  often  seen  large  flocks 
of  blackbirds  and  swallows  fly  about  in  a  restless  way  for 
a  few  days  in  autumn,  preparing  for  their  long  journey. 
They  suddenly  take  their  departure,  and  we  see  no  more 
of  them  till  spring.  If  we  were  in  the  South  in  early 
spring  we  should  see  the  same  thing  repeated  as  they  pre- 
pare to  go  North.  Great  numbers  of  birds  pass  over  us 
on  their  way  from  their  summer  homes  in  the  far  North 
(22) 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  23 

to  their  winter  retreats  in  the  South  and  return  again  in 
spring,  and  yet  we  are  scarcely  aware  of  it.  They  prefer 
to  travel  by  night,  stopping  for  rest  and  food  by  day. 

It  is  a  long  journey  from  Alaska  or  Greenland  to 
Central  America  or  the  West  Indies,  and  yet  some  of  the 
little  birds,  like  our  Fox  Sparrow,  that  spend  the  winter 
with  us,  summer  in  the  Arctic  regions.  Others  make  a 
trip  from  Greenland  to  Central  America.  They  are  fleet 
of  wing,  and  can  go  faster  than  the  fastest  express  train. 
Mr.  Wilson  estimated  that  many  of  them  fly  faster  than 
a  mile  a  minute,  so  that  with  a  few  stops  for  rest  and 
food,  it  would  not  take  long  to  travel  several  thousand 
miles.  Flying  high  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  they 
get  a  "bird's-eye"  view  of  our  continent,  and  are  prob- 
ably guided  in  their  travel  by  the  mountains,  forests  and 
river-courses. 

Our  resident  birds  are  with  us  winter  and  summer.  The 
Bluebird,  Hairy  Woodpecker,  Downy  Woodpecker,  Hawks 
and  Owls,  Quails,  the  Flicker,  Blue  Jay,  Meadow  Lark, 
Goldfinch,  Cardinal,  Nuthatch,  Chickadee,  and  Robin  are 
among  the  number  of  naturalized  citizens.  The  Blue- 
bird, Meadow  Lark,  and  Robin  are  in  tune  with  the  first 
touch  of  spring,  while  the  Cardinal  cannot  wait  so  long : 
he  must  whistle  his  good  cheer  for  us  in  the  bright  days 
of  winter. 

During  the  winter  season  they  must  depend  chiefly 
upon  winter  berries,  weed  seeds,  and  insect  eggs  and  larvae 
that  are  snugly  packed  away  in  the  bark  of  trees ;  they  must 
often  suffer  from  hunger  and  cold  when  for  days  snow  and 
ice  cover  the  ground  and  trees.  At  such  times  they  often 
come  about  our  doors  and  will  not  refuse  a  kindly  crumb 
thrown  out  to  them.  The  good  they  will  do  in  orchard  and 
garden  when  the  noxious  insects  put  in  an  appearance  will 
repay  with  interest  any  attention  they  have  received  at 


24  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSIC^ 

our  hands,  and  besides,  they  will  stay  about  our  homes 
and  charm  us  with  their  songs. 

"The  demands  of  nature  are  paramount,  and  in  the 
sharpness  of  hunger  one  will  not  be  over-fastidious  as  to 
the  company  he  keeps.  One  morning,  when  the  newly 
fallen  snow  had  seriously  limited  the  natural  supplies  of 
food,  I  found  an  incongruous  but  apparently  happy  fam- 
ily feeding  most  amicably  at  a  spot  where  provision  is 
regularly  made  —  a  gathering  composed  of  Peacocks, 
Pigeons,  several  squirrels,  English  Sparrows,  "White 
Throats,"  Cardinals,  and  a  huge  but  famishing  rat! 
While  the  rest  of  the  company  did  not  openly  resent 
the  intrusion  of  this  base  quadruped,  and  merely  ignored 
him  in  the  most  polite  and  distant  manner,  it  was  evident 
that  he  felt  an  indescribable  chill  in  the  atmosphere,  for 
he  was  plainly  ill  at  ease  amid  so  much  beauty  and  ele- 
gance, and  he  soon  made  his  own  motion,  and  seconded 
it,  to  withdraw." 

Before  the  nest  is  begun  a  very  important  matter  must 
be  settled.  Each  bird  selects  his  mate,  to  whom  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  time  he  pays  strict  attention.  The 
ways  of  wooing  are  very  interesting.  Some  birds  have  a 
very  short  and  simple  courtship,  hardly  seeming  to  woo 
at  all.  Others  go  through  an  elaborate  courtship.  Audu- 
bon  gives  an  account  of  the  mating  of  the  Great  Blue 
Heron ,  one  of  our  summer  residents  : 

"In  Florida  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  them  collected  in 
the  course  of  the  morning.  The  males  walk  about  with 
an  air  of  great  dignity,  nodding  defiance  to  their  rivals, 
and  the  females  croak  to  invite  the  males  to  pay  their 
addresses  to  them.  The  females  utter  their  coaxing  notes 
all  at  once,  and  as  each  male  evinces  an  equal  desire  to 
please  the  object  of  his  affection,  he  has  to  encounter  the 
enmity  of  many  an  adversary,  who,  with  little  attention 


felRDS    OF    KANSAS 

to  politeness,  opens  his  powerful  bill,  throws  out  his 
wings,  and  rushes  with  fury  on  his  foe.  Each  attack  is 
carefully  guarded  against,  blows  are  exchanged  for  blows; 
one  would  think  that  a  single  well-aimed  thrust  might 
suffice  to  inflict  death,  but  the  strokes  are  parried  with 
as  much  art  as  an  expert  swordsman  would  employ; 
and  although  I  have  watched  these  birds  for  half  an  hour 
at  a  time  as  they  fought  on  the  ground,  I  never  yet  saw 
one  killed  on  such  occasion ;  but  I  have  often  seen  one 
felled  and  trampled  upon,  even  after  incubation  had  com- 
menced. These  combats  over,  the  males  and  females 
leave  the  place  in  pairs." 

Bradford  Torrey,  in  his  "Birds  in  the  Bush,"  gives  an 
account  of  Robin's  way  of  winning  his  mate: 

"The  American  Robin,  for  instance,  is  far  from  being 
a  bird  of  exceptional  refinement.  '  His  nest  is  rude,  not  to 
say  slovenly,  and  his  general  deportment  is  unmistakably 
common.  But  watch  him  when  he  goes  a-wooing,  and 
you  will  begin  to  feel  quite  a  new  respect  for  him.  How 
gently  he  approaches  his  beloved !  How  carefully  he 
avoids  ever  coming  disrespectfully  near !  No  sparrow-like 
screaming,  no  dancing  about,  no  melodramatic  gesticu- 
lations. If  she  moves  from  one  side  of  the  tree  to  the 
other,  or  to  the  tree  adjoining,  he  follows  in  silence.  Yet 
every  movement  is  a  petition,  an  assurance  that  his  heart 
is  hers  and  ever  must  be.  The  action  is  extremely  sim- 
ple ;  there  is  nothing  of  which  to  make  an  eloquent  de- 
scription ;  but  I  should  pity  the  man  who  would  witness 
it  with  indifference.  Not  that  the  robin's  suit  is  always 
carried  on  in  the  same  way ;  he  is  much  too  versatile  for 
that.  On  one  occasion,  at  least,  I  saw  him  holding  him- 
self absolutely  motionless,  in  a  horizontal  posture,  star- 
ing at  his  sweetheart  as  if  he  would  charm  her  with  his 
gaze,  and  emitting  all  the  while  a  subdued  hissing  sound. 


Zb  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

.  .  .  It  ended  with  his  suddenly  darting  at  the  female, 
who  took  wing  and  was  pursued." 

Our  beautiful  little  Goldfinches,  that  are  so  sombre  in 
winter  as  to  be  scarcely  recognized  as  the  same  bird  that 
is  so  brightly  colored  in  summer,  nest  late  in  the  season ; 
the  latter  part  of  June  or  in  July.  But  all  the  time,  from 
early  spring,  the  male  is  sporting  his  attractive  coat  of 
yellow  and  calls  lovingly  to  his  mate.  It  is  a  wise  pro- 
vision of  nature  that  the  brightly  colored  Goldfinches 
should  put  on  a  plain  garb  in  winter,  when  the  leafless 
and  barren  trees  would  make  a  brighter  suit  a  deadly 
mark  for  its  enemies. 

The  Golden-winged  Woodpecker,  or  "Flicker,"  not  only 
uses  his  bill  to  procure  his  food  and  build  his  home,  but 
in  spring  carries  on  a  drumming  on  the  most  resonant 
limb  he  can  find,  with  the  object  of  wooing  a  suitable 
mate.  Sometimes  they  drum  to  each  other  after  they  are 
happily  mated,  as  though  renewing  their  mutual  vows. 
One  bird  writer  says  that  he  saw  two  Flickers  clinging  to 
a  shellbark  tree,  one  about  fifteen  feet  above  the  other, 
and  each  had  a  strip  of  loose  bark  before  it.  First  the 
lower  one  would  beat  his  drum,  softly,  then  he  would  stop 
and  hold  his  head  back  to  listen ;  the  other  would  answer 
him. 


WHERE   AND   HOW  THEY   BUILD. 

They  '11  come  again  to  the  apple  tree  — 

Robin  and  all  the  rest  — 
When  the  orchard  branches  are  fair  to  see 

In  the  snow  of  the  blossoms  dressed, 
And  the  prettiest  thing  in  the  world  will  be 

The  building  of  the  nest.  _M  E  Sanggter 

Nesting-time  is  a  happy  time,  and  an  anxious  one,  too, 
for  the  parent  birds.  It  is  the  season  of  song  and  expec- 
tation. We  are  made  more  cheerful  by  their  songs,  as 
well  as  the  nesting  mother,  to  whom  the  mate  pours  out 
his  volumes  of  melody. 

The  ways  of  different  birds  at  this  time  are  very  inter- 
esting, and  teach  us  many  beautiful  lessons.  The  parent 
birds  show  the  tenderest  care  and  the  most  faithful  devo- 
tion to  their  nest  of  precious  eggs  or  nestlings. 

The  home  of  a  bird  has  an  attraction  for  us  that  is  not 
possessed  by  the  home  of  a  mouse  or  a  bumblebee.  It  is 
more  like  a  human  habitation.  Like  people,  they  choose 
various  locations,  sometimes  changing  after  the  founda- 
tion is  well  laid.  The  most  common  location  is  in  the 
trees. 

Warblers  build  in  the  very  top  branches ;  the  Orioles 
select  an  outer  branch,  while  the  Hawks  and  Crows  like 
to  build  close  against  the  trunk,  and  the  Woodpeckers 
chisel  holes  into  the  trunk.  The  large  birds  of  prey 
choose  crags;  the  Larks  and  Sandpipers,  the  ground; 
Herons  and  Ducks,  the  marshes;  Bank  Swallows  and 
Kingfishers  dig  holes  in  the  banks  of  streams ;  and  some 

(27) 


zo  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CLASSICS 

of  our  water  birds — Coots  and  Rails  —  build  their  nests 
on  the  rushes  in  the  water. 

They  use  a  great  variety  of  building  material,  which 
varies  considerably  according  to  location.  Here  are  a 
few:  hay,  hair,  bark,  moss,  hog  bristles,  paper,  twine, 
mud,  thistle  down,  rags,  feathers,  snake-skins. 

There  are  many  different  ways  of  building,  both  as  to 
style  and  material,  so  that  the  little  architect  may  often 
be  known  by  a  look  at  his  home.  Like  the  different  races 
of  men,  some  build  wigwams,  tents,  mud  houses,  or  brown- 
stone  palaces,  according  to  their  tastes. 

Rather  than  "clean  house"  every  spring,  most  birds 
make  a  new,  clean  home,  and  take  great  delight  in  it, 
working  and  singing  all  the  while.  A  few  clean  and  re- 
pair the  old  nest;  among  these  are  the  Barn  Swallows. 
The  Cowbirds,  one  of  the  Blackbird  family,  to  which  fam- 
ily the  splendid  builders,  the  Orioles,  also  belong,  take  no 
pleasure  in  nest-building.  They  use  the  nests  of  other 
birds.  A  number  of  water  birds  deposit  their  eggs  in  de- 
pressions which  they  make  in  the  sand,  using  little  or  no 
other  material.  Some  of  the  Terns  that  visit  us  in  mi- 
gration belong  to  this  class. 

The  eggs  of  the  Whippoorwill  are  placed  in  a  little  hol- 
low in  the  ground,  or  on  the  bare  rocks,  with  little  or  no 
nest  material  surrounding  them.  Sometimes,  however, 
the  nest  and  sitting  bird  are  concealed  in  bushes  and 
among  the  leaves.  The  color  of  the  bird  is  so  much  like 
the  brown  leaves  and  earth  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  see 
them  on  the  nest  —  this  is  one  of  nature's  ways  of  pro- 
tecting the  helpless  birds  against  their  many  enemies. 
When  the  nest  is  approached  the  parent  bird  will  not  stir 
till  almost  trampled  upon. 

One  would  think  that  when  more  than  one  brood  is 
reared  in  a  season  the  old  nest  would  be  good  enough  for 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  Z» 

the  second  brood,  but  this  is  the  exception.  A  new  nest 
is  usually  made.  The  Eagles  and  Osprey  use  the  old  nest 
for  a  number  of  years,  each  year  doing  some  repairing  and 
enlarging,  when  in  time  it  grows  to  enormous  proportions. 

The  Kingfisher  and  Bank  Swallow  like  to  dig  deep  holes 
in  the  bank  of  a  stream  for  their  home.  The  Kingfisher 
takes  a  week  or  more  to  build  his  tunnel.  It  is  from  five 
to  fifteen  feet  deep,  turning  to  the  right  or  left  and  end- 
ing in  a  larger  space  where  the  eggs  are  laid.  This  bird 
has  a  habit  of  ejecting  the  bones  of  the  fish  it  eats  around 
the  nest. 

"  Downy  "  prefers  neither  the  tree-top  nor  the  e'arth  for 
his  habitation.  He  likes  to  use  his  sharp  bill  (see  cut 
No.  4)  to  chisel  out  a  home  in 
the  trunk  of  the  tree.  The  hole 
he  cuts  is  almost  a  perfect  cir- 
cle. The  male  does  most  of  the 
work.  Cunning  little  creatures,  they  carry  the  chips 
away  from  the  tree  where  the  nest  is  to  be,  to  keep  the 
hungry  egg-sucker  and  bird-eater  off  the  scent. 

It  is  said  that  some  of  our  Woodpeckers  make  an  exca- 
vation each  fall  for  a  winter  home,  and  that  a  new  one  is 
probably  chipped  out  for  the  nest  each  spring. 

The  Woodpecker  nestlings  when  a  few  days  old  like  to 
try  their  climbers,  so  they  cling  to  the  sides  of  the  hole 
in  preference  to  staying  at  the  bottom. 

Certainly  there  is  nothing  very  attractive  in  the  lining 
of  the  nest.  Nothing  but  the  chips  made  in  building  are 
used  for  covering  the  bottom. 

How  different  is  the  home  of  the  little  Goldfinch  (Wild 
Canary).  Here  is  a  dainty  little  cup  made  late  in  the 
season  and  lined  with  the  softest  material  to  be  had — the 
down  of  the  thistle  seeds.  So  cosy  that  the  tiny  little 
nestlings,  themselves  soft  and  tender,  are  quite  comfort- 


30  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

able,  and  no  doubt  prefer  this  home  to  any  that  man 
could  build. 

The  Green  Heron,  though  he  spends  his  time  wading 
about  in  the  ponds  and  marshes,  likes  to  build  in  the 
trees  near  his  favorite  haunts.  His  nest  is  composed  of 
twigs  loosely  put  together.  Sometimes  a  number  of  Her- 
ons build  in  one  large  tree.  A  large  cottonwood  tree  near 
the  Kansas  river  has  seven  nests  in  it. 

The  Baltimore  Orioles,  which  you  remember  are  rela- 
tives of  .the  Cow.birds,  are  famous  weavers,  and  build  a 
beautiful  nest.  They  select  a  side  branch  and  build  near 
the  outer,  end,  away  from  danger,  and  where  the  summer 
breezes  can  rock  the  cradle  with  loving  tenderness. 

A  singular  case  is  reported  from  Colorado  of  an  Oriole 
that  had  taken  two  mates,  one  after  the  nest  was  com- 
pleted ;  so,  to  accommodate  the  new  member  of  the  family, 
an  addition  was  built  to  the  first  nest.  Here  they  reared 
the  two  broods  in  perfect  harmony. 

The  Oriole  uses  its  bill  as  a  needle,  weaving  bits  of 
yarn,  horse-hair,  rags,  paper,  strips  of  bark  and  grasses 
into  the  delicate  basket,  giving  it  shape  and  symmetry 
with  its  body. 

In  an  early  day,  before  the  advent  of  the  chimney, 
the  little  Chimney  Swift  built  its  nest  in  hollow  trees. 
Now  they  also  use  chimneys,  probably  as  offering  greater 
protection.  The  nest  is  made  of  small  twigs  of  about  the 
same  length  and  thickness.  These  it  breaks  from  the 
trees  while  on  the  wing.  They  are  cemented  together 
and  to  the  wall  by  saliva,  which  is  secreted  more  abun- 
dantly during  nesting-time.  Anyone  who  has  ever  removed 
these  nests  will  concede  that  the  work  is  well  done.  The 
Chinese  Swift  builds  its  nest  of  saliva  without  the  sticks. 
The  Orientals  eat  this  kind  of  nest,  and  consider  it  a  great 
delicacy. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  31 

Some  of  the  birds  upon  whom  the  Cowbird  imposes  an 
egg  for  incubation  resent  the  intrusion,  and  skillfully 
build  another  floor  in  the  nest,  covering  up  the  foreign 
egg,  and  begin  over  again  on  the  second  floor.  Our  Yellow 
Warbler  is  known  to  do  this. 

The  little  Screech  Owl  is  another  tree-builder,  but  he 
will  not  reject  a  cosy  place  in  a  barn  or  shed.  His  colors 
and  quiet  ways  are  very  helpful  to  him.  Boys  are  well 
aware  of  the  fact  that  an  Owl  is  hard  to  find  — he  is  to 
be  heard,  not  seen.  Not,  however,  is  he  to  be  heard  when 
flying,  for  the  feathers  have  an  extra  finish  of  soft,  silky, 
down  that  makes  the  wing-beats  silent.  Ho  likes  a  hol- 
low tree  for  his  home,  making  it  comfortable  and  cosy 
with  leaves  and  feathers.  He  has  cultivated  a  taste  for 
the  English  Sparrow.  This  is  several  points  in  his  favor. 

The  Crested  Flycatcher,  a  cousin  to  the  Kingbird, 
shows  a  queer  taste  in  selecting  material  for  interior 
decoration.  Besides  the  usual  building  materials  — 
twigs,  grasses,  and  rootlets  —  it  does  not  consider  the 
furnishings  quite  complete  till  a  cast-off  snake-skin  is 
secured  and  worked  in.  It  is  hard  to  account  for  this 
reptilian  taste. 

A  close  observer  of  birds  writes  that  he  once  saw  this 
Flycatcher  pick  up  an  onion-skin  and  carry  it  off,  think- 
ing, perhaps,  that  it  was  a  snake-skin.  Mr.  Goss  relates 
that  in  the  month  of  June,  1887,  a  pair  built  a  nest  in 
one  of  the  cannons  on  the  State-house  grounds  at  Topeka. 
One  egg  was  laid,  but  unfortunately  at  that  time  the 
cannon  was  brought  into  use  for  drill,  and  the  nest  de- 
stroyed. 

The  Barn  Swallow  is  a  clever  little  plasterer.  The 
bowl-shaped  nest  plastered  against  the  side  of  a  barn,  or 
under  the  eaves,  is  composed  of  little  pieces  of  mud, 


06  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

mixed  with  straws  to  give  it  greater  security.  It  is  lined 
with  feathers,  and  is  placed  where  the  rain  is  not  likely 
to  wash  it  away,  and  completely  satisfies  our  little  swift- 
winged  bird. 


IN  THE  NEST  AND  AT  LUNCH. 

Oh,  the  dainty  pouches 
Hanging  all  along 

Under  larches 

And  green  arches 
Where  birds  throng ! 

For  our  pleasure, 

In  rich  measure, 
They  will  scatter  forth  their  treasure, — 

Golden  notes 

From  tiny  throats, 
And  pockets  full  of  song ! 

—  Josephine  Pollard, 

The  nest  nicely  made  to  the  taste  of  the  happy  pair,  and 
hidden  in  some  suitable  place,  the  period  of  expectancy  be- 
gins. Here  the  devoted  mother-bird  exercises  the  greatest 
care  for  her  eggs,  and  displays  at  times  remarkable  bold- 
ness. It  is  at  such  times  that  she  shows  great  tact  and 
many  artifices  to  mislead  the  nest-hunter. 

The  period  of  incubation  extends  from  about  ten  days  for 
some  of  the  smaller  birds,  as  the  Wren,  to  fifty  or  sixty 
for  the  Ostrich.  The  mother-bird  is,  in  general,  the  sitter. 
However,  both  male  and  female  may  incubate.  When  the 
eggs  are  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about  one  hundred  de- 
grees, the  germ  cell  soon  breaks  up  into  a  mass  of  cells, 
which  later  form  the  organs  and  parts  of  the  chick.  While 
the  embryo  is  developing  thus,  it  is  absorbing  or  feeding 
upon  the  rich  food  supply  in  the  "yolk."  When  the 
food  is  all  consumed  the  chick  pecks  its  way  out  of  the 
shell  by  means  of  a  little  tube  on  the  end  of  its  bill  with 

-3  (33) 


34  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

which  nature  has  provided  it.  This  little  "egg  tooth," 
as  it  is  popularly  called,  is  then  absorbed,  for  there  is  no 
further  use  for  it. 

Some  nestlings  can  run  about  and  help  themselves  as 
soon  as  they  come  out  of  the  shell,  and  are  covered  with 
soft,  downy  feathers ;  others,  helpless  for  a  time  after 
hatching,  must  have  food  brought  to  them. 

We  can  divide  the  newly  hatched  nestlings  into  two 
classes :  those  that  come  out  of  the  egg  featherless  and 
helpless  (altricial  ),  and  those  that  are  hatched  with  a 
coat  of  down  and  can  run  about  after  the  parent  bird  and 
help  themselves  (  precocial  ) . 

We  may  suppose,  too,  that  the  birds  that  build  such 
good  basket-like  nests  in  the  trees  away  from  danger  do 
so  for  the  sake  of  their  helpless  young,  while  the  Wild 
Turkey,  the  Prairie  Chicken,  and  the  Quail,  whose  young 
are  able  to  run  about  at  once,  make  their  nests  on  the 
ground.  One  naturalist  says  he  has  seen  the  young  of 
the  Wild  Turkey  run  about  with  portions  of  the  shell  still 
clinging  to  them. 

The  behavior  of  the  mother-bird  while  incubating  is 
often  very  attractive  to  a  bird-lover.  Bradford  Torrey, 
in  his  account  of  a  "  Woodland  Intimate,"  relates  his  ex- 
perience with  a  Solitary  Vireo  (  Blue-headed )  while  nest- 
ing. He  first  approached  the  nest  rapidly,  thinking  to 
come  up  closely  by  surprise.  When  he  came  to  a  stand- 
still his  eyes  were  within  a  foot  of  the  bird.  He  placed 
his  hand  gently  against  the  bottom  of  the  nest.  At  this 
she  partly  arose  and  craned  her  neck  to  see  what  was  go- 
ing on,  but  soon  settled  back  again.  Each  day  he  called 
to  see  her,  and  was  permitted  to  stroke  her  feathers,  and 
when  his  hand  was  placed  on  her  head  she  pecked  his  fin- 
ger in  a  pretty,  gentle  way.  On  another  day  he  brought 
her  food  consisting  of  insects ;  these  she  ate  from  his  hand. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  35 

The  male,  however,  was  shy,  and  would  not  permit  such 
intimacy. 

The  helpless  nestlings  must  be  fed,  and  this  the  parent, 
or  parents,  as  the  case  may  be,  proceed  to  do  in  many 
curious  and  interesting  ways. 

The  bird  parents  are  kept  very  busy  when  the  nestlings 
open  their  wide  mouths  and  call  for  food.  The  Robins  are 
not  at  all  timid  at  this  time,  and  are  very  familiar  figures 
running  over  gardens  and  lawns  looking  for  earthworms 
and  grubs.  They  can  see  them  when  we  cannot,  and  stop 
here  and  there  at  our  very  doorsteps  to  pull  a  stubborn 
worm  out  of  its  retreat.  It  is  hard  to  escape  his  keen 
eyes.  When  a  load  is  secured  he  flies  to  the  waiting  nest 
and  divides  it  among  the  hungry  mouths. 

A  few  years  ago  the  writer  saw  three  young  Kingbirds 
sitting  on  a  fence,  all  facing  in  the  same  direction.  They 
seemed  almost  grown  and  quite  able  to  help  themselves, 
but  the  mother-bird  did  not  seem  to  think  so,  for  she  flew 
to  a  meadow  near  by,  where  grasshoppers  were  abundant, 
and  served  each  of  her  babies  in  turn.  She  was  very 
methodical  in  her  way  of  doing  things,  for  she  began  at 
one  end  of  the  row  and  gave  each  its  insect  in  order, 
repeating  until  each  had  been  served  four  times. 

Quite  in  contrast  to  the  table  manners  of  the  Robin  are 
those  of  the  Flickers,  who  first  eat  the  food  themselves, 
and  then,  thrusting  their  beaks  into  the  throats  of  the 
nestlings,  empty  the  contents  of  their  crops,  in  which  it 
has  been  partly  digested.  Our  Pigeons  have  very  much 
the  same  habit,  except  that  in  this  case  the  nestling  puts 
his  beak  into  that  of  the  parent  and  feeds  on  the  copious 
secretion  of  the  crop,  along  with  the  grain  that  was  eaten 
and  softened  here. 

The  Swallows  are  quite  at  home  on  the  wing,  and 
when  the  nestlings  have  left  the  nest  and  can  fly  about 


36 


TWENTIETH    CENTUBY    CLASSICS 


they  are  still  fed  for  a  time  by  the  parent,  who  puts  the 
insect  morsel  into  the  beak "  of  the  young  while  both  are 
in  the  air. 

The  birds  which,  in  the  adult  state,  feed  upon  seeds, 
need  often  to  change  the  diet  for  their  young,  and  provide 
them  with  more  easily  digested  food,  so  that  for  a  time 
the  seed-eaters  become  insect-  or  worm-eaters. 

If  we  were  to  cross  the  ocean,  we  could  find  some  very 
singular  ways  in  which  lunch  is  served  to  the  nestlings. 
The  male  Hornbills,  for  example,  carry  food  to  both 
mother  and  young,  who  have  been  shut  in  the  hollow 
of  a  tree  by  means  of  mud,  with  only  a  small  opening 
left  through  which  they  are  fed.  The  diet  of  fruit  eaten 
by  the  male  bird  is  ejected  from  his  stomach,  lining  and 
all,  into  the  hungry  mouths  at  home. 


WINGS  AND  TAIL. 

• 

A  bird  that  must  fly  a  great  deal  needs  wings  which  ara 
properly  cut  to  make  swift  and  easy  travel  in  the  air  pos- 
sible. (  See  cut  No.  2.)  Each 
part  of  the  bird  that  helps  it 
get  on  in  the  world  will  show 
by  its  make-up  what  it  is  best  fitted  to  do. 

The  wings  of  flying  animals  move  rapidly  downward 
and  upward  in  the  air,  supporting  the  body  by  the  re- 
action of  the  air  under  their  rapid  strokes  and  at  the 
same  time  pushing  it  forward.  The  wings  of  birds  are 
not  all  of  the  same  size,  even  though  their  bodies  have 
about  the  same  weight,  because  their  habits  may  be  quite 
different.  The  Heron  has  a 
comparatively  light  body  and 
a  very  large  wing  surface.  The 
Quail  has  a  heavy  body  and  a 
small  wing  surface.  (  See  cut 
No.  1.) 

The  flight  of  the  Heron  and  Quail  differ  quite  as  much  as 
their  wings.  The  Heron  does  not  move  the  wing  so  rapid- 
ly, and  flies  more  slowly  and  gracefully  than  the  Quail. 
The  Quail  is  a  quick,  rapid  flyer  for  short  distances,  and 
starts  off  with  great  speed. 

The  Ostrich  does  not  use  its  wings  for  flight,  but  merely 
to  assist  it  in  running.  The  Penguin,  a  bird  that  lives  in 
the  Southern  seas,  uses  its  wings  as  paddles  for  swim- 
ming under  the  water,  the  feathers  on  its  wing  being 
more  like  scales  than  ordinary  feathers,  and  not  at  all 
fitted  for  flight  in  air. 

The  tail,  too,  which  often  takes  an  active  part  in  a 
(37) 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

bird's  life,  is  fashioned  according  to  the  nature  of  its  work. 
It  has  many  different  forms,  depending  upon  the  length 
of  the  different  feathers  composing  it,  of  which  in  most 
birds  there  are  twelve.  When  they  are  a!l  of  the  same 
length,  it  is  even  or  square.  When  they  shorten  grad- 
ually from  the  middle  to  the  outside,  rounded.  When 
the  outer  ones  are  longer  than  the  middle  ones,  forked. 
When  the  central  pair  is  longest,  pointed. 

The  Downy  Woodpecker  braces  himself  against  the  tree, 
using  his  tail  with  its  sharp-pointed  feathers  as  a  prop. 
Ever  active,  he  peeps  into  every  likely  crevice  and  loose 
piece  of  bark  for  a  tender  morsel.  Useful  as  he  is  to  the 
farmer  in  removing  injurious  insects  and  their  eggs,  he  is 
too  often  under-valued  and  blamed  for  injuring  the  trees 
and  fruit  with  his  chisel-like  beak.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  shown  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  that  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  stomachs  examined,  only  three  con- 
tained fruit, —  apple  in  two,  strawberries  in  one.  Eleven 
taken  in  our  State  in  winter  showed  that  ten  per  cent,  of 
his  food  was  grasshopper  eggs. 

The  little  brown  Chimney  Swift  with  its  spine-tipped 
tail  can  with  ease  rest  on  the  inside  of  a  chimney  or  hol- 
low tree,  where  the  tail  again  acts  as  a  prop. 

The  "  Dipper,"  or  Pied-billed  Grebe,  has  scarcely  a  tail 
at  all ;  so  much  of  its  time  is  spent  in  and  about  the 
water  that  it  does  not  need  one.  The  wings,  too,  are 
short,  making  the  body  compact  and  of  the  shape  of  a 
double  cone,  admirably  fitting  it  for  diving. 

The  long  tail  serves  well  to  balance  and  "guide  the  birds 
on  the  twig  and  in  the  air.  No  matter  how  much  the 
branch  may  toss  and  swing,  the  tail  moves  now  up,  now 
down,  helping  to  keep  the  body  erect.  Whether  or  not  jt 
further  serves  the  songster  as  a  baton  or  means  of  expres- 
sion, it  is  very  significantly  jerked  about,  as  everyone 
has  observed  in  the  Catbird  and  Brown  Thrasher. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BIRDS  OF  KANSAS. 


The   following  chapter   is   compiled  from   that  great 
work,  "  History  of  the  Birds  of  Kansas/'  by  Col.  K  S. 


The  publishers  have  made  it  possible  in  this  number 
of  the  Twentieth  Century  Classics  to  give  to  the  teachers 
and  bird  students  of  Kansas  a  history  of  fifty-one  of 
our  commoner  birds,  representing  the  different  orders. 

Colonel  Goss  gave  many  years  of  his  life  to  the  study 
of  the  habits  of  birds,  not  only  in  Kansas,  but  in  various 
parts  of  North  America.  He  has  accurately  and  in  a 
charming  manner  brought  their  life  histories  before  us, 
and  it  is  with  the  hope  of  giving  a  portion  of  his  monu- 
mental work  a  wider  circulation  among  all  lovers  of  our 
birds  that  this  compilation  is  made.  It  is  also  with  the 
thought  of  offering  some  slight  assistance  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  study  of  these  types  so  happily  presented  by 
him  that  the  preceding  brief  introductory  chapters  have 

been  written. 

I.— BLUEBIRD. 

Sialia  sialis  (LiNN.). 

An  abundant  resident  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State ; 
common  to  the  middle;  retiring  in  winter  to  the  thickets 
in  the  deep  ravines  and  along  the  streams ;  a  rare  summer 

(39) 


40  TWENTIETH    CENTUEY    CLASSICS 

resident  in  the  western  portion  of  the  State.  Begin  lay- 
ing the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States;  north  to  Nova 
Scotia,  Ontario  and  Manitoba;  west  to  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains;  breeding  throughout  their  range; 
wintering  from  the  Middle  States  southward  to  Cuba. 

Iris  brown;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  blackish. 

The  habits  of  this  well-known  species  are  so  familiar 
to  all  that  no  description  is  needed.  I  cannot,  however, 
refrain  from  presenting  the  following,  written  by  Wilson 
Flagg,  in  so  happy  and  pleasing  a  style: 

"  Not  one  of  our  songsters  is  so  intimately  associated 
with  the  early  spring  as  the  Bluebird.  Upon  his  arrival 
from  his  winter  residence,  he  never  fails  to  make  known 
his  presence  by  a  few  melodious  notes  uttered  from  some 
roof  or  fence  in  the  field  or  garden.  On  the  earliest 
morning  in  April,  when  we  first  open  our  windows  to  wel- 
come the  soft  vernal  gales,  they  bear  on  their  wings  the 
sweet  strains  of  the  Bluebird.  These  few  notes  are  asso- 
ciated with  all  the  happy  scenes  and  incidents  that  attend 
the  opening  of  the  year. 

"  The  Bluebird  is  said  to  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  English  Robin-Redbreast,  similar  in  form  and  style, 
having  a  red  breast  and  short  tail  feathers,  with  only  this 
manifest  difference :  that  one  is  olive  colored  above  where 
the  other  is  blue.  But  the  Bluebird  does  not  equal  the 
Redbreast  as  a  songster.  His  notes  are  few  and  not 
greatly  varied,  though  sweetly  and  plaintively  modulated, 
and  never  loud.  On  account  of  their  want  of  variety, 
they  do  not  enchain  the  listener;  but  they  constitute  an 
important  part  of  the  melody  of  morn. 


BIRDS    OP    KANSAS 

"  The  value  of  the  inferior  singers  in  making  up  a  gen- 
eral chorus  is  not  sufficiently  appreciated.  In  musical  com- 
position, as  in  an  anthem  or  oratorio,  though  there  is  a 
leading  part,  which  is  usually  the  air,  that  gives  character 
to  the  whole,  yet  this  leading  part  would  often  be  a  very  in- 
different piece  of  melody  if  performed  without  its  accom- 
paniments; and  these  alone  would  seem  still  more  trifling 
and  unimportant.  Yet,  if  the  composition  be  the  work  of  a 
master,  these  brief  strains  and  snatches,  though  apparently 
insignificant,  are  intimately  connected  with  the  harmony  of 
the  piece,  and  could  not  be  omitted  without  a  serious  dis- 
paragement of  the  grand  effect.  The  inferior  singing 
birds,  bearing  a  similar  relation  to  the  whole  choir,  are 
indispensable  as  aids  in  giving  additional  effect  to  the  note 
of  the  chief  singers. 

"  Though  the  Robin  is  the  principal  musician  in  the 
general  anthem  of  morn,  his  notes  would  become  tiresome 
if  heard  without  accompaniments.  Nature  has  so  arranged 
the  harmony  of  this  chorus,  that  one  part  shall  assist  an- 
other; and  so  exquisitely  has  she  combined  all  the  dif- 
ferent voices,  that  the  silence  of  any  one  cannot  fail  to 
be  immediately  perceived.  The  low,  mellow  warble  of  the 
Bluebird  seems  an  echo  to  the  louder  voice  of  the  Robin ; 
and  the  incessant  trilling  or  running  accompaniment  of 
the  Hairbird,  the  twittering  of  the  Swallow,  and  the  loud, 
melodious  piping  of  the  Oriole,  frequent  and  short,  are 
sounded  like  the  different  parts  in  a  band  of  instruments, 
and  each  performer  seems  to  time  his  part  as  if  by  some 
rule  of  harmony.  Any  discordant  sound  that  may  occur 
in  the  performance  never  fails  to  disturb  the  equanimity  of 
the  singers,  and  some  minutes  will  elapse  before  they  re- 


42  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

sume  their  song.  It  would  be  difficult  to  draw  a  correct  com- 
parison between  the  birds  and  the  various  instruments  they 
represent.  But  if  the  Eobin  was  described  as  the  clarionet, 
the  Bluebird  might  be  considered  the  flageolet,  frequently, 
but  not  incessantly,  interspersing  a  few  mellow  strains. 
The  Hairbird  would  be  the  octave  flute,  constantly  trilling 
on  a  high  key,  and  the  Golden  Eobin  the  bugle,  often  re- 
peating his  loud  and  brief  strain.  The  analogy,  if  carried 
farther,  might  lose  force  and  correctness. 

"  All  the  notes  of  the  Bluebird — his  call  notes — his 
notes  of  complaint,  his  chirp,  and  his  song — are  equally 
plaintive  and  closely  resemble  one  another.  I  am  not 
aware  that  this  bird  utters  a  harsh  note.  His  voice,  which 
is  one  of  the  earliest  to  be  heard  in  the  spring?  is  associated 
with  the  early  flowers  and  with  all  pleasant  vernal  in- 
fluences. When  he  first  arrives  he  perches  upon  the  roof 
of  a  barn  or  upon  some  leafless  tree,  and  delivers  his  few 
and  frequent  notes  with  evident  fervor,  as  if  conscious  of 
the  pleasures  that  await  him.  These  mellow  notes  are  all 
the  sounds  he  makes  for  several  weeks,  seldom  chirping  or 
scolding  like  other  birds.  His  song  is  discontinued  at  mid- 
summer, but  his  plaintive  call,  consisting  of  a  single  note 
pensively  modulated,  continues  every  day  until  he  leaves 
our  fields.  This  sound  is  one  of  the  melodies  of  summer's 
decline,  and  reminds  us,  like  the  note  of  the  green  noc- 
turnal tree-hopper,  of  the  ripened  harvest,  the  fall  of  the 
leaf,  and  of  all  the  joyous  festivals  and  melancholy  remi- 
niscences of  autumn. 

"  The  Bluebird  builds  his  nest  in  hollow  trees  and  posts, 
and  may  be  encouraged  to  breed  around  our  dwellings  by 
supplying  boxes  for  his  accommodation.  In  whatever 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  43 

vicinity  we  reside,  whether  in  a  recent  clearing  or  in 
the  heart  of  a  village,  if  we  set  up  a  bird  house  in  May,  it 
will  certainly  be  occupied  by  a  Bluebird,  unless  previously 
taken  by  a  Wren  or  a  Martin.  But  there  is  commonly  so 
great  a  demand  for  such  accommodations,  that  it  is  not 
unusual  to  see  two  or  three  different  species  contending 
for  one  box." 

Their  nests  are  loosely  but  rather  smoothly  constructed 
of  fine  straws,  grasses  and  occasionally  leaves,  hair  and 
f'ojithers.  Eggs,  usually  four  or  five,  .83x.63 ;  light  green- 
ish blue ;  in  form,  oval.  Pure  white  sets  have  occasionally 
boon  takon. 

II.— AMERICAN"  ROBIN. 
Merula  migratoria  (LiNN.). 

Resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State 
in  summer,  and  along  the  streams  in  winter,  where  the 
hackbcrries  are  plenty;  rare  at  other  times;  not  common 
in  the  .western  portion  of  the  State.  Begin  laying  the 
last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Northern  and  eastern  North  America  (re- 
placed in  the  western  United  States,  east  to  the  edge  of 
the  Great  Plains,  by  M .  migratoria  propinqua)  ;  south 
into  eastern  Mexico;  breeding  from  near  the  southern 
borders  of  the  United  States  northward  to  the  Arctic 
coast. 

In  a  few  specimens  the  females  were  fully  as  large  as 
the  males. 

Iris  brown;  bill  bright  yellow,  tipped  with  dusky  (the 
bill  of  the  female  somewhat  paler;  in  young  birds  the 
upper  mandible,  with  the  exception  of  the  edges,  dark 
brown)  ;  legs  brown ;  feet  dark  brown ;  claws  blackisfi. 


44  TWENTIETH    CENTTTBY   CLASSICS 

These  familiar  birds  of  the  orchard  and  garden  brave 
the  coldest  weather,  and  their  distribution  in  winter  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  food  supply.  In  the  winter  of 
1880,  I  found  a  few  wintering  on  Brier  Island,  Nova 
Scotia.  They  sought  shelter  at  night  and  during  severe 
storms  in  the  thick  growths  of  spruce  and  other  shrubby 
trees,  and  subsist  upon  the  snails  and  minute  forms  of 
life  that  abounds  in  the  kelp  and  other  debris  washed  upon 
the  shore.  Their  winter  fare  inland  consists  largely  of 
cedar  berries,  hackberries,  wild  grapes,  etc.,  and  in  the 
fall  help  themselves  to  our  cultivated  berries;  but  they 
more  than  repay  the  loss  in  the  destruction  of  cut  worms, 
canker  worms  and  various  forms  of  injurious  insect  life, 
which  they  diligently  search  for  in  the  gardens,  plowed 
fields  and  bare  spots,  in  the  early  spring,  ready  to  catch 
them  as  fast  as  they  are  warmed  into  life  in  their  winter 
beds  by  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun  and  venture  to  the  surface. 
Then  they  are  the  first  of  the  family  to  greet  us  with  their 
song;  not  as  varied  and  musical  as  the  silvery  songs  of 
their  cousins  of  the  deep  woods,  but  full  of  tender  pathos, 
and  awaken  us  to  the  fact  that  winter  is  over  and  summer 
at  hand. 

Their  nests  are  built  in  the  crotches  of  trees,  saddled 
on  to  horizontal  branches  or  placed  in  hedges,  outbuild- 
ings— in  fact,  most  anywhere  off  the  ground.  They  are 
coarsely  constructed  of  leaves,  stems,  twigs  and  grasses, 
fastened  together  and  plastered  inside  with  mud,  and  lined 
with  fine  stems  and  rootlets.  Eggs  three  to  five  (usually 
four),  1.16x.80;  greenish  blue;  in  form,  oval. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  45 

III.— CHICKADEE. 

Parus  atricapillus  (LiNN.). 

Resident ; .  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State ; 
common  to  the  middle  portion;  rare  westward.  Begin 
laying  early  in  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  west  to  the  edge 
of  the  Great  Plains;  south  into  the  northern  borders  of 
the  Indian  Territory  and  southern  Missouri,  but,  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river,  rarely  south  of  latitude  40°.  Resi- 
dent throughout  their  range. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  feet  and  claws  black;  legs  slate 
brown. 

The  natural  home  of  these  sprightly  little  birds  is  within 
the  woodlands,  but  they  often  frequent  orchards  and  gar- 
dens, and  in  severe  winter  weather,  when  the  snow  lies 
upon  the  branches  of  the  trees  and  fills  the  crevices  in  the 
bark,  they  visit  the  dooryards  to  pick  up  the  scattered 
ci-umbs,  and  if  a  piece  of  fresh  meat  is  hung  up  in  a 
tree  or  upon  the  side  of  an  outbuilding,  they  will  come 
daily  to  pick  off  frozen  bits,  until  the  weather  moderates 
and  melts  the  snow  and  ice  that  covered  the  eggs,  larva, 
etc.,  upon  which  they  are  accustomed  to  feed.  The  birds 
are  very  social  and  move  about  in  small  flocks,  a  happy 
group  chatting  away,  and  "  merrily  singing  their  Chick- 
a-dee-dee." 

In  the  early  mating  season  they  have  a  loud,  clear, 
whistling  song,  "  Peto,"  uttered  at  short  intervals,  and 
various  quaint,  chatty  call  notes.  Graceful  little  fellows ! 
that  fly  from  tree  to  tree  and  actively  search  the  branches, 
often  swinging  feet  uppermost  from  the  ends  of  slender 


46  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

twigs,  to  pick  out  a  seed,  an  insect  from  a  leaf,  or  larva 
hidden  in  a  bud.  Pretty  birds !  that  with  their  familiar, 
unsuspicious  ways  win  our  love ;  and  in  addition  to  this 
should  receive  a  warm  welcome  for  the  good  they  do  in 
ridding  the  forest  and  fruit  trees  of  their  many  pests. 
Mr.  Samuels,  in  "  Birds  of  New  England,"  says: 

"  In  some  localities  the  Titmouse  is  regarded  as  in- 
jurious, from  the  fact  that  it  is  often  seen  among  the 
branches  and  leaves  of  the  fruit  trees  and  shrubs,  pecking 
off  and  destroying  the  buds.  It  does  not  do  this  to  the 
bud  for  food,  but  really  for  the  grub  contained  in  it.  If 
these  buds  be  examined  after  the  Chickadee  has  thrown 
them  away,  the  burrow  of  a  grub  or  caterpillar  will  be 
found  in  the  very  heart  of  them.  The  bird  is  able  to  dis- 
cover the  presence  of  these  vermin  much  more  readily 
than  man  could,  and  it  is  thus  able  to  assail  them  at  a 
period  of  their  existence  when  they  are  doing  the  most 
harm.  But  it  is  not  the  insect  and  the  larva  alone  that  he 
destroys.  His  microscopic  eyes  enable  him  to  discove'r 
their  eggs  deposited  on  and  in  the  crevices  of  the  bark  and 
in  the  buds,  and  in  an  instant  he  can  destroy  the  whole 
future  brood.  The  eggs  of  the  moth  of  the  destructive 
leaf-rolling  caterpillar,  those  of  the  canker  worm,  the 
apple  tree  moth,  and  others  of  these  well-known  plagues, 
are  greedily  eaten  up  by  it ;  and  this  is  in  the  inclement 
winter,  when  most  of  our  other  birds  have  abandoned  us 
for  a  more  genial  climate. 

"  In  the  summer  time,  the  Chickadee's  labors  are  more 
easily  noticed;  and  as  he  raises  a  large  brood  of  young, 
the  female  laying  six  or  eight  eggs  at  a  litter,  he  is  very 
busy  through  the  whole  day  in  capturing  vast  quantities 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  47 

of  caterpillars,  flies  and  grubs.  It  has  been  calculated  that 
a  single  pair  of  these  birds  destroy,  on  the  average,  not  less 
than  five  hundred  of  these  pests  daily ;  a  labor  which  could 
hardly  be  surpassed  by  a  man,  even  if  he  gave  his  whole 
time  to  the  task. 

"  '  Moreover,  the  man  could  not  be  successful  at  so 
small  a  cost,  for,  setting  aside  the  value  of  his  time  and 
the  amount  of  a  laborer's  daily  wages,  he  could  not  reach 
the  denser  and  loftier  twigs,  on  which  the  caterpillars 
revel  and  which  the  Titmouse  can  traverse  with  perfect 
ease.  No  man  can  investigate  a  tree,  and  clear  it  of  the 
insect  hosts  that  constantly  beleaguer  it,  without  doing 
some  damage  to  the  buds  and  young  leaves  by  his  rough 
handling ;  whereas  the  Chickadee  trips  along  the  branches, 
peeps  under  every  leaf,  swings  himself  round  upon  his 
perch,  spies  out  every  insect,  and  secures  it  with  a  peck  so 
rapid  that  it  is  hardly  perceptible.' 

"  In  some  observations  made  on  the  habits  of  this  and 
some  other  birds  in  Paris,  it  was  found  that  the  Titmouse 
destroys,  at  the  lowest  computation,  over  two  hundred 
thousand  eggs  alone,  of  noxious  insects,  in  the  course  of  a 
year.  That  one  small  bird  is  thus  able  to  accomplish  so 
much  good,  in  destroying  these  myriads  of  vermin,  is  an 
appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  the  farmer  for  the  protection  of 
the  whole  class  that  should  not  be  slighted." 

Their  nests  are  placed  near  the  ground,  in  holes  made 
by  themselves  in  decaying  trees  and  stumps.  They  are 
composed  of  bits  of  moss,  interwoven  with  fur  and  fine 
hair,  and  occasionally  a  few  downy  feathers.  Eggs  four 
to  eight,  .60x.47;  white,  speckled  with  reddish  brown 
and  lilac  stains,  generally  the  thickest  around  the  larger 
end ;  in  form,  oval. 


48  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

IV.— SHOWN    CREEPER. 

Certhia  familiaris  americana  (BONAP.). 

Winter  sojourner;  common  in  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  State;  rare  westward.  Leave  the  last  of  March  to 
the  first  of  April;  begin  to  return  in  October. 

HABITAT.  Temperate  eastern  North  America;  west 
to  the  Great  Plains  (represented  westward  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  by  C.  familiaris  montana,  and  on  the 
Pacific  side  by  C.  familiaris  occidentalis)  ;  breeds  from 
the  northern  United  States  northward;  winters  south- 
ward into  the  Gulf  States. 

Iris  brown ;  bill  dark  brown,  with  base  of  under  flesh 
color ;  legs  and  feet  reddish  brown ;  claws  a  shade  darker. 

The 'natural  haunts  of  these  peculiar  birds  are  within 
the  deep  woods,  but  during  migration  are  occasionally 
met  with  in  our  shade  trees,  orchards,  scattering  trees  upon 
the  prairies  and  that  fringe  the  streams  far  out  upon  the 
plains.  They  are  not  sociable  birds,  so  far  as  relates  to 
their  own  kin,  and  lead  a  rather  isolated,  solitary  life, 
except  during  the  mated  season,  and  then  are  only  in 
pairs ;  but  they  are  often  found  associating  with  the  Nut- 
hatches and  Titmice;  not,  I  think,  from  choice,  but  be- 
cause the  insect  life  is  the  most  abundant.  In  their  search 
for  the  eggs  and  larva  and  small  forms  of  life  hidden  in  the 
interstices  of  the  bark,  they  climb  the  trees  in  a  jerky 
manner,  and  usually  spiral-like;  sometimes  but  a  short 
distance,  at  others  nearly  to  the  top,  flying  in  either  case 
and  alighting  at  the  foot  of  another  tree,  and  creep  up- 
wards as  before,  repeating  the  performance,  as  they  can- 
not creep  downward  like  the  Nuthatches.  Their  feet  and 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  49 

sharp  daws  are  admirably  adapted  to  climbing,  and  their 
stiff  tails  keep  them  erect  as  they  ascend. 

They  are  not  wild,  but  rather  shy,  and  manage  to  keep 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tree  from  the  intruder.  Their 
presence  would  seldom  be  noticed  were  it  not  for  their  oft- 
repeated,  feeble,  but  sharp,  creaky  "  Cree-cree-cree-cree," 
and  occasional  soft,  lisping  "  Chip." 

I  am  unacquainted  with  their  breeding  habits,  and  there- 
fore take  pleasure  in  quoting  the  following  description  of 
their  song  and  nests,  from  Mr.  Win.  Brewster's  observa- 
tions during  the  months  of  May  and  June,  in  the  tim- 
bered regions  of  Lake  Umbagog,  in  western  Maine: 

.  .  .  "He  is  a  frequent,  but  scarcely  a  persistent 
singer,  and  his  voice,  though  one  of  the  sweetest  that  ever 
rises  in  the  depths  of  the  northern  forests,  is  never  a  very 
conspicuous  sound  in  the  woodlands  wheje  he  makes  his 
home.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  his  song  is  short,  and 
by  no  means  powerful,  but  its  tones  are  so  exquisitely  pure 
and  tender,  that  I  have  never  heard  it  without  a  desire  to 
linger  in  the  vicinity  until  it  has  been  many  times  re- 
peated. It  consists  of  a  bar  of  four  notes — the  first  of 
moderate  pitch,  the  second  lower  and  less  emphatic,  the 
third  rising  again,  and  the  last  abruptly  falling,  but  dying 
away  in  an  indescribably  plaintive  cadence,  like  the  soft 
sigh  of  the  wind  among  the  pine  boughs.  I  can  compare  it 
to  no  other  bird  voice  that  I  have  ever  heard.  In  the  pitch 
and  succession  of  the  notes  it  somewhat  resembles  the  song 
of  the  Carolina  Titmouse  (Parus  carolinensis) ,  but  the 
tone  is  infinitely  purer  and  sweeter.  Like  the  wonderful 
melody  of  the  Winter  Wren,  it  is  in  perfect  keeping  with 
the  mysterious  gloom  of  the  woods;  a  wild,  clear  voice, 


50  TWENTIETH    OENTUBY    CLASSICS 

that  one  feels  would  lose  its  greatest  charm  if  exposed  to 
cheerful  light  and  commonplace  surroundings. 

"  Among  the  other  voices,  I  shortly  detected  the  sweet, 
wild  song  of  the  Brown  Creeper,  and,  looking  more  care- 
fully, spied  i.  pair  of  these  industrious  little  gleaners  wind- 
ing their  way  up  the  trunk  of  a  neighboring  tree.  Al- 
though I  watched  them  closely,  the  female  soon  after,  in 
some  way,  eluded  my  sight,  and  mysteriously  disappeared, 
but  the  male  remained  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  singing 
at  frequent  intervals.  Being  convinced  that  they  must 
have  a  nest  somewhere  near,  I  instituted  a  careful  search 
among  the  dead  trees  that  stood  around,  and  at  length 
detected  a  scale  of  loose  bark,  within  which  was  crammed 
a  suspicious-looking  mass  of  twigs  and  other  rubbish.  A 
vigorous  rapping  upon  the  base  of  the  trunk  producing  no 
effect,  I  climbed  to  the  spot,  and  was  about  to  tear  off  the 
bark  when  the  frightened  Creeper  darted  out  within  a 
few  inches  of  my  face,  and  the  next  moment  I  looked  in 
upon  the  eggs. 

"  The  tree  selected  was  a  tall  dead  fir,  that  stood  in  the 
shallow  water  just  outside  the  edge  of  the  living  forest, 
but  surrounded  by  numbers  of  its  equally  unfortunate 
companions.  Originally  killed  by  inundation,  its  branches 
had  long  ago  yielded  to  the  fury  of  the  winter  storms, 
and  the  various  destroying  agents  of  time  had  stripped  off 
the  greater  part  of  the  bark,  until  only  a  few  persistent 
scales  remained  to  chequer  the  otherwise  smooth,  mast-like 
stem.  One  of  these,  in  process  of  detachment,  had  started 
away  from  the  trunk  below,  while  its  upper  edges  still  re- 
tained a  comparatively  firm  hold,  and  within  the  space 
thus  formed  the  t  cunning  little  architect  had  constructed 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  51 

her  nest.  The  whole  width  of  the  opening  had  first-been 
filled  with  a  mass  of  tough  but  slender  twigs  (many  of 
them  at  least  six  inches  in  length),  and  upon  this  founda- 
tion the  nest  proper  had  been  constructed.  It  was  mainly 
composed  of  the  fine  inner  bark  of  various  trees,  with  an 
admixture  of,  a  little  Usnea  moss  and  a  number  of  spider's 
cocoons.  The  whole  mass  was  firmly  but  rather  loosely 
put  together,  the  different  particles  retaining  their 
proper  position  more  from  the  adhesion  of  their  rough  sur- 
faces than  by  reason  of  any  special  arrangement  or  inter- 
weaving. The  general  shape  of  the  structure  necessarily 
conformed  nearly  with  that  of  the  space  within  which  it 
was  placed,  but  a  remarkable  feature  was  presented  by  the 
disposition  of  the  lateral  extremities.  These  were  carried 
upward  to  a  height  of  several  inches  above  the  middle  of 
the  nest,  ending  in  long,  narrow  points  or  horns,  which  gave 
to  the  whole  somewhat  the  shape  of  a  welMilled  crescent. 
In  the  center  of  the  lowest  part  of  the  sag  thus  formed  was 
the  depression  for  the  reception  of  the  eggs — an  exceed- 
ingly neat,  cup-shaped  hollow,  bordered  by  strips  of  soft, 
flesh-colored  bark  and  lined  with  feathers  from  Ducks  and 
other  wild  birds.  The  whole  was  fastened  to  the  concave 
inner  surface  of  the  bark  scale  rather  than  to  the  tree 
itself,  so  that  when  the  former  was  detached  it  readily 
came  off  with  it.  I  afterwards  found  two  old  nests,  which 
were  perhaps  originally  built  by  this  same  pair  of  birds, 
as  they  were  placed  on  a  tree  that  stood  close  at  hand. 
They  were  under  a  single,  enormous  piece  of  bark,  but  at 
its  opposite  lateral  extremities.  One  of  them,  a  nearly 
shapeless  mass  of  rubbish,  was  scarcely  recognizable,  but 
the  other  still  retained  its  original  shape  and  finish,  and 


52  TWENTIETH    CENTUET    CLASSICS 

contained  an  unhatched  egg,  the  contents  of  which  had  long 
since  dried  away.  Probably  they  represented  the  homes 
successively  occupied  during  the  two  preceding  seasons, 
and  it  is  hence  likely  that  this  species,  like  so  many  others, 
returns  year  after  year  to  breed  in  nearly  the  same  spot." 
Eggs  five  to  nine,  .60X.48;  white  to  creamy  white, 
speckled  and  spotted  with  reddish  brown,  chiefly  about  the 
larger  end;  in  form,  oval. 

V.— CATBIRD. 

Galeoscoptes  carolinensis  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State ;  not  uncommon  in  the  western  portion.  Begin  lay- 
ing about  the  middle  of  May;  the  bulk  leave  about  the 
last  of  September ;  a  few  remaining  late  in  November. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  north  in  the  in- 
terior to  about  latitude  54° ;  west  to  the  western  base  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains ;  breeding  throughout  its  United 
States  range  and  northward ;  wintering  from  the  Indian 
Territory  and  the  Carolinas  southward,  through  eastern 
Mexico,  to  southern  Central  America. 

Iris  dark  brown ;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black ;  legs 
and  feet  sometimes  brownish  black. 

Miss  Florence  A.  Merriam,  in  <:  Birds  through  an 
Opera  Glass,"  describes  the  habits  and  actions  of  this 
eccentric  and  well-known  bird,  in  so  life-like  and  happy  a 
manner,  that  I  take  pleasure  in  copying  the  same: 

"  High  trees  have  an  unsocial  aspect,  and  so,  as  Lowell 
says,  '  The  Catbird  croons  in  the  lilac  bush,'  in  the  alders, 
in  a  prickly  ash  copse,  a  barberry  bush,  or  by  the  side  of 
the  garden.  In .  Northampton,  one  of  his  favorite  haunts 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  53 

is  an  old  orchard,  that  slopes  down  to  the  edge  of  Mill 
Kiver.  Here,  he  is  welcomed  every  year  by  his  college 
girl  friends;  and  in  the  open  seclusion  of  an  apple  tree, 
proceeds  to  build  his  nest,  and  raise  his  little  family,  sing- 
ing through  it  all  with  keen  enjoyment  of  the  warm  sun- 
shine and  its  own  company. 

"  To  the  trio  the  Catbird  is  at  once  the  most  interesting 
and  most  exasperating  of  birds.  Like  some  people,  he 
seems  to  give  up  his  time  to  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him- 
self talk.  A  first  cousin  of  the  Mockingbird — whom  he 
resembles  in  person  much  more  than  in  voice — perhaps  the 
relationship  accounts  for  his  overweening  confidence  in 
his  vocal  powers.  As  a  matter  of  fact  his  jerky  utterance 
is  so  harsh  that  it  has  been  aptly  termed  asthmatic. 

"  The  Catbird  is  unmistakably  a  Bohemian.  He  is  ex- 
quisitely formed,  and  has  a  beautiful  slate  gray  coat,  set 
off  by  his  black  head  and  tail.  By  nature  he  is  peculiarly 
graceful,  and,  when  he  chooses,  can  pass  for  the  most  pol- 
ished of  the  Philistine  aristocracy.  But  he  cares  nothing 
for  all  this.  With  lazy  self-indulgence,  he  sits  by  the  hour 
with  relaxed  muscles,  and  listless,  drooping  wings  and  tail. 
If  he  were  a  man,  you  feel  confident  that  he  would  sit  in 
shirt  sleeves  at  home  and  go  on  the  st'reet  without  *a  collar. 

"  And  his  occupation  ?  His  cousin  is  an  artist,  but 
he — is  he  a  wag  as  well  as  a  caricaturist,  or  is  he  in 
sober  earnest  when  he  tries  to  mimic  the  inimitable  Wil- 
son's Thrush  ?  If  a  wag,  he  is  a  success,  for  he  deceives 
the  unguarded  into  believing  him  a  Kobin,  a  cat,  and 
'  a  bird  new  to  science.'  How  he  must  chuckle  over  the 
enthusiasm  which  hails  his  various  notes,  and  the  bewil- 
derment and  chagrin  that  come  to  the  diligent  observer 
who  finally  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  garrulous  mimic! 


54  TWENTIETH    CENTTJEY   CLASSICS 

"  The  Catbird  builds  his  nest  as  he  does  everything  else. 
The  loose  mass  of  coarse  twigs,  patched  up  wi$i  leaves, 
pieces  of  newspaper,  or  anything  he  happens  to  fancy, 
looks  as  if  it  would  hardly  bear  his  weight.  He  lines  it, 
however,  with  fine  bits  of  brown  and  black  roots,  and  when 
the  beautiful  dark  bluish  green  eggs  are  laid  in  it,  you 
feel  sure  that  such  an  artist-looking  bird  must  enjoy  the 
contrasting  colors." 

Eggs  three  to  five,  usually  four,  .94x.69 ;  in  form,  oval. 

VI.— WESTERN  HOUSE   WREN. 
Troglodytes  aedon  aztecus  (BATED.). 

Summer  resident;  common.  Arrive  in  April;  begin 
laying  about  the  middle  of  May.  Leave  in  September. 

HABITAT.  Western  United  States,  except  Pacific  coast ; 
east  to  Illinois ;  south  into  Mexico  to  Vera  Cruz ;  breeds 
throughout  its  United  States  range,  and  probably  south- 
ward. 

This  variety  of  T.  aedon  was  entered  in  my  "  Catalogues 
of  the  Birds  of  Kansas  "  as  T.  aedon  parkmanii,  as  at  that 
time  its  habitat  was  supposed  to  embrace  the  western 
United  States  east  to  or  near  the  Mississippi  river.  Since 
then,  the  A.  O.  U.  Committee,  in  reviewing  the  material 
before  them,  have  decided  that  the  birds  on  the  Pacific 
coast  differ  enough  iij.  color,  etc.,  to  form  another  subspe- 
cies, and,  as  the  name  T.  parkmanii  was  given  by  Audubon 
to  a  bird  procured  on  the  Columbia  River,'  the  new  form 
properly  retains  the  name,  and  our  bird  becomes  T.  aedon 
aztecus. 

This  subspecies  differs  from  the  above  description,  in 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  55 

being  somewhat  paler  and  grayer,  with  less  rufous  on 
rump  and  tail,  more  noticeable  upon  the  plains  (as  would 
naturally  be  expected),  but  it  shades  so  gradually  back 
into  the  color  of  the  eastern  bird  the  dividing  line  cannot 
well  be  determined. 

With  all  deference  to  the  committee,  it  is  my  opinion 
that  the  differences  are  too  inconstant  to  warrant  the  sep- 
aration of  either  form,  and  that  T.  aedon  should  be  the 
recognized  bird  from  coast  to  coast. 

Iris  brown;  bill — upper  dusky,  under  pale;  legs  and 
feet  brown;  claws  dark  brown. 

These  interesting,  familiar  little  birds  are  very  com- 
mon, or  rather  locally  so,  throughout  their  range — abun- 
dant in  some  localities,  and,  perhaps  in  the  near  vicinity, 
rare,  or  not  to  be  found.  They  frequent  the  open,  shrubby 
hills  and  mountain  sides,  and  scanty  growths  bordering 
the  streams  upon  the  plains  and  unsettled  ^portions  of  the 
country;  but,  within  the  settlements,  prefer  for  their 
haunts  the  orchards,  gardens  or  shrubbery  about  the  dwell- 
ing houses  and  outbuildings.  Pugnacious  little  fellows, 
that  boldly  attack  the  larger  birds,  and,  by  scolding  and 
harassing,  drive  the  house-cat  and  other  prowling  enemies 
away;  and,  regardless  of  property  rights,  take  possession 
of  the  Bluebird  and  Martin  houses,  and  are  often  able  to 
retain  possession. 

They  are  industrious  insect  hunters,  searching  in  the 
bushes,  vines,  woodpile,  etc.,  and  creeping  and  peeping 
into  every  nook  and  cranny  for  the  same.  They  move 
about  with  tail  erect,  in  a  quick,  nervous  manner. 

Their  song,  heard  almost  incessantly  during  the  early 
breeding  season,  is  poured  forth  from  a  perch,  in  a  vigor- 


56  TWENTIETH    CENTTTBY    CLASSICS 

ous  manner,  with,  swollen  throat,  head  thrown  back,  de- 
pressed tail  end  tremulous  wings,  a  picture  of  happiness 
and  content.  A  sprightly,  pleasing,  warbling,  flippant 
and  voluble  song,  but,  to  my  ear,  not  remarkably  musical. 
Outside  from  their  song  and  interesting  ways,  they  arc 
valuable  in  the  destruction  of  injurious  insect  life,  and 
are  in  no  way  harmful;  and,  for  these  reasons,  suitable 
boxes  are  or  should  be  placed  in  the  porches,  and  nailed  to 
the  outbuildings,  for  their  reception. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  holes  in  trees,  logs  and  stumps, 
and  about  dwelling  houses,  in  boxes,  etc.,  entering  out- 
houses through  crevices  and  knotholes — in  fact,  most  any- 
where (I  once  found  a  nest  in  the  skull  of  a  buffalo)  ; 
loosely  constructed  of  sticks,  weeds,  etc.,  filling  the  cavi- 
ties, leaving  a  small  opening  for  entrance;  within  the 
rubbish  they  construct  an  inner  nest,  composed  of  finer 
material,  lining  the  same  with  feathers,  fur,  and  most  any 
soft,'  warm  substance.  Eggs  seven  to  nine,  .64x.49; 
ground  color  white  to  pinkish  white,  but  so  thickly  dotted 
with,  specks  of  reddish  brown  and  a  few  purple  markings 
that  the  white  is  concealed;  in  form,  oval. 

VII.— BROWN  THEASHER. 

Harporhynchus  rufus  (LINN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State;  not  uncommon  in  the  western  portion.  Arrive  the 
last  of  March  to  middle  of  April;  begin  laying  early  in 
May.  The  bulk  leave  in  September  and  October,  a  few 
remaining  until  late  in  the  fall. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States;  north  to  southern 
Maine,  Ontario  and  Manitoba ;  west  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS 


57 


tains;  south  through  the  Gulf  States  (replaced  in  western 
Texas  by  77.  longirostris} .  Breeds  throughout  its  range. 
Winters  from  the  Gulf  coast  north  into  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory and  eastward,  to  about  latitude  37°. 

Iris  yellow ;  bill  black,  with  under  whitish  at  base ; 
legs  and  feet  grayish  brown ;  tarsi  in  front  reddish  brown ; 
claws  light  brown. 

These  large,  handsome  songsters  prefer  for  their  haunts 
the  underbrush  bordering  the  woodlands,  tangled  thickets 
of  bushes  and  briers,  and  the  hedges  upon  the  prairies, 
and,  while  not  shy  or  timid  birds,  as  a  rule  select  their 
homes  rather  remote  from  our  dwellings.  The  male 
arrives  in  advance,  and,  as  soon  as  he  has  selected  a  breed- 
ing place,  mounts  the  topmost  branches  of  the  trees  and 
pours  forth  his  loudest  song  at  short  intervals,  fearing  if 
lie  remains  silent  the  hen  bird  may  pass  him  by  unnoticed. 
Upon  her  arrival,  he  sings  from  the  lower  branches  and 
bushes  beneath,  and  devotes  a  large  share  of  his  time  to 
love  making,  driving  away  intruders,  and  in  assisting  in 
nest  building.  As  soon  as  the  nest  is  completed  and  his 
mate  begins  to  lay,  he  again  sings  from  the  treetops  to 
cheer  her,  taking  his  turn,  however,  in  sitting  upon  the 
eggs ;  but  as  soon  as  the  little  ones  are  hatched  his  song 
ceases  almost  entirely,  and  he  probably  devotes  his  time  to 
watching  over  and  assisting  in  caring  for  the  wants  of  the 
young. 

They  feed  and  rear  their  young  upon  earth  worms, 
spiders,  grasshoppers,  beetles,  wasps,  etc.,  and  berries  in 
their  season.  They  are  quite  rasorial  in  their  habits, 
and  in  their  search  for  food  often  hop  over  the  ground 
and  scratch  among  the  leaves.  They  have  a  peculiar  habit 


58  TWENTIETH    CEITTUBY    CLASSICS 

of  beating  the  insects  upon  the  ground  or  perch,  knocking 
and  thrashing  them  about  until  dead  (and  in  removing 
the  wings  and  legs  of  the  larger  ones  before  swallowing 
them).  It  is  for  this  reason  they  are  called  Thrashers. 
They  flit  and  hop  about  in  the  bushes,  with  expanded  tails, 
in  a  graceful,  easy  manner,  but,  on  account  of  the  short- 
ness of  their  rounded  wings,  their  flights  are  low  and 
heavy.  The  old  birds  do  not  take  kindly  to  confinement, 
but  the  young  when  reared  from  the  nest  become  very 
tame,  and  when  well  cared  for  sing  with  full  power  and 
melody  their  charming  wild-wood  song,  which,  for  length, 
compass,  variety  and  musical  flow,  ranks  next  to  the  song 
of  the  Mockingbird.  Their  call  and  alarm  notes  vary: 
a  "  Chup,"  hissing  sounds,  at  times  harsh,  scolding  notes. 
Their  nests  are  placed  in  low  bushes,  vines,  hedges,  and 
occasionally  upon  the  ground;  a  coarse,  bulky  structure, 
the  outside  usually  composed  of  sticks,  rootlets  and  stems 
of  weeds;  within  this  an  inner  nest  of  leaves  and  strip- 
pings  from  plants,  lined  with  fine  rootlets  and  horse  hair. 
Eggs  three  to  five  (usually  four),  1.06x.80;  creamy  white 
to  pale  greenish,  thickly  dotted  with  yellowish  to  reddish 
brown,  confluent  around  the  larger  end;  in  form,  oval  to 
rounded  oval. 

VIII.— OVEN-BIKD. 
Seiurus  aurocapillus  (Liira.). 

Summer  resident;  very  common  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State.  Arrive  the  middle  to  last  of  April;  begin 
laying  about  the  middle  of  May ;  leave  early  in  September. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America ;  north  to  Hudson's 
Bay  Territory  and  Alaska ;  west  to  the  base  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains ;  breeding  from  southern  Kansas  and  Virginia 


BIRDS   OF   KANSAS  59 

(probably  a  little  south)  north  to  within  the  Arctic  circle ; 
wintering  in  southern  Florida,  the  Bahamas,  West  Indies 
and  Mexico  to  southern  Central  America. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill — upper  black,  under  pale  flesh 
color,  with  end  dusky;  legs  flesh  color;  feet  and  claws 
light  brown. 

The  following  interesting  description  of  the  habits  of 
this  bird  is  taken  from  "  Birds  of  Illinois,"  by  Kidgway : 

"  The  Golden-crowned  Thrush,  or  Oven-bird,  is  one  of 
the  most  generally  distributed  and  numerous  birds  of  east- 
ern North  America.  It  is  almost  certain  to  be  found  in 
any  piece  of  woodland,  if  not  too  wet,  and  its  frequently 
repeated  song,  which  is  not  musical,  or  otherwise  particu- 
larly attractive,  but  very  sharp,  clear,  and  emphatic,  is 
often,  particularly  during  noonday  in  midsummer,  the 
only  bird  note  to  be  heard.  It  lives  much  upon  the  ground, 
where  it  may  be  seen  walking  gracefully  over  the  dead 
leaves,  or  upon  an  old  log,  making  occasional  halts,  during 
which  its  body  is  tilted  daintily  up  and  down,  much  in  the 
manner  of  the  Water-Thrushes  (8.  motacilla  and  novebora- 
censis),  but  more  like  the  Kentucky  Warbler,  often  to  be 
seen  in  the  same  localities.  Its  ordinary  note  is  a  rather 
faint,  but  sharp  '  Chip,'  prolonged  into  a  chatter,  when  one 
is  chased  by  another.  The  usual  song  is  very  clear  and 
penetrating,  but  not  musical,  and  is  well  expressed  by 
John  Burroughs,  in  '  Wake  Eobin,'  as  sounding  like  the 
words,  '  Teacher,  teacher;  teacher,  teacher,  TEACHER  I ' — 
the  accent  on  the  first  syllable,  and  each  word  uttered  with 
increased  force  and  shrillness.  But,  as  Mr.  Burroughs 
truly  says,  '  He  has  far  rarer  song  which  he  reserves  for 
some  nymph  whom  he  meets  in  the  air.  Mounting  by  easy 


60  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

flights  to  the  top  of  the  tallest  tree,  he  launches  into  the 
air  with  a  sort  of  suspended,  hovering  flight,  and  bursts 
into  a  perfect  ecstacy  of  song — clear,  ringing,  copious, 
rivaling  the  Goldfinch's  in  vivacity,  and  the  Linnet's  in 
melody.  This  strain  is  one  of  the  rarest  bits  of  bird  mel- 
ody to  be  heard.  Over  the  woods,  hid  from  view,  the 
ecstatic  singer  warbles  his  finest  strains.  In  the  song,  you 
instantly  detect  his  relationship  to  the  Water  Wagtail 
(Seiurus  noveboracensis} — erroneously  called  Water- 
Thrush  —  whose  song  is  likewise  a  sudden  burst,  full  and 
ringing,  and  with  a  tone  of  youthful  joyousness  in  it,  as  if 
the  bird  had  just  had  some  unexpected  good  fortune. 
For  nearly  two  years,  this  strain  of  the  pretty  warbler 
was  little  more  than  a  disembodied  vioce  to  me,  and  I 
was  puzzled  by  it  as  Thoreau  was  by  his  mysterious  Night 
Warbler,  which,  by  the  way,  I  suspect  was  no  new  bird  at 
all,  but  one  he  was  otherwise  familiar  with.  The  little 
bird  himself  seems  disposed  to  keep  the  matter  secret, 
and  improves  every  opportunity  to  repeat  before  you  his 
shrill,  accelerating  lay,  as  if  it  were  quite  enough,  and  all 
he  laid  claim  to.  Still,  I  trust  I  am  betraying  no  confi- 
dence in  making  the  matter  public  here.  I  think  this  is 
preeminently  his  love  song,  as  I  hear  it  oftenest  about  the 
mating  season.  I  have  caught  half-suppressed  bursts  of  it 
from  two  males,  chasing  each  other  with  fearful  speed 
through  the  forest.'  " 

Reader,  if  you  wish  to  hear  this  love  song  in  its  fullest 
power,  visit  the  deep  woods  in  the  early  summer,  as  the 
shades  of  night  deepen,  and  most  of  the  diurnal  birds 
have  retired,  for  it  is  then  that  its  lively,  resonant  voice 
falls  upon  the  ear  unbroken,  save  by  the  silvery  flute-like 


BIKDS    OF    KANSAS  61 

song  of  the  Wood  Thrush;  and  if  your  heart  does  not 
thrill  with  pleasure,  it  is  dead  to  harmonious  sounds. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground,  generally  a  depres- 
sion among  the  leaves,  and  hidden  under  a  low  bush,  log, 
or  overhanging  roots ;  when  in  an  open  space,  roofed  over ; 
a  dome-like  structure,  made  of  leaves,  strippings  from 
plants,  and  grasses,  with  entrance  on  the  side.  Eggs  three 
to  six — rarely  six,  usually  four,  .SOx.GO ;  white,  or  creamy 
white,  quite  glossy,  spotted  as  a  rule  rather  sparingly  over 
the  entire  surface,  thickest  and  confluent  around  the  larger 
end,  with  pale  reddish  brown,  lilac  and  umber;  in  form, 
rounded  oval. 

IX.— YELLOW-THKOATED  VIREO. 

Vireo  ftavifrons  (YIEILL.). 

Summer  resident;  quite  common  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State.  Arrive  the  last  of  April  to  first  of  May ;  begin 
laying  about  the  20th  of  May;  the  bulk  leave  early  in 
September;  a  few  occasionally  linger  into  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States,  occasionally  crossing 
the  line  into  the  British  possessions;  south  in  winter 
through  eastern  Mexico,  to  Costa  Rica.  I  found  them 
quite  common  in  Guatemala.  Breed  throughout  their 
United  States  range. 

Iris  brown ;  bill — end  dusky,  rest  bluish ;  legs,  feet  and 
claws  lead  color. 

These  handsome  birds  frequent  the  woods,  and  seem  to 
prefer  the  timbered  lands  along  the  streams;  at  least, 
this  is  the  case  in  their  western  range.  In  the  Eastern 
States  they  are  said  to  be  quite  a  familiar  bird,  and  to 
inhabit  alike  the  orchards  and  shade  trees ;  and,  as  they 


62  TWENTIETH   CEHTTUBY   CLASSICS 

are  not  wild  or  timid,  will  no  doubt  soon  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  presence  of  man,  and  readily  make  their 
homes  about  our  prairie  dwellings,  as  soon  as  the  trees 
and  shrubbery  form  inviting  haunts ;  at  any  rate,  they  are 
much  more  common  here  than  in  former  years. 

In  flight  they  are  less  steady  and  not  so  swift  as  the 
Red-eyed.  Their  food  habits  are  the  same,  but  they  look 
more  for  the  supply  among  the  foliage  in  the  treetops. 
Their  song  is  not  so  constant,  and  is  delivered  in  a  slower 
and  more  plaintive  strain,  but  in  a  very  clear  and  musi- 
cal manner.  Among  the  Vireos  they  rank  next  to  the 
Warbling  in  song. 

In  regard  to  their  nesting  habits  I  will  say,  that  on  the 
9th  of  May,  1877,  I  found,  in  the  timber  near  Neosho 
Falls,  Kansas,  a  nest  of  this  bird  (a  pendent  one,  as  all 
Vireos'  nests  are)  attached  to  branches  of  a  very  small 
horizontal  limb  of  a  large  hickory  tree,  about  twenty  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  ten  feet  below  the  limbs  that  formed 
the  top  of  the  tree.  In  the  forks  of  the  tree  the  Cooper's 
Hawks  were  nesting,  and  I  discovered  the  Vireo  and  its 
nest  in  watching  the  Hawks — or  rather  the  man  I  had 
hired  to  climb  the  tree  to  the  Hawks'  nest.  The  little 
bird  at  first  flew  off,  but  on  his  near  approach  returned 
and  suffered  him  to  bend  the  limb  toward  the  tree  and 
cover  her  with  his  hand  on  the  nest.  The  twig  was 
quickly  broken,  and  the  bird  and  nest  lowered  by  a  line 
in  a  small  covered  basket,  taken  to  collect  the  eggs  of  the 
Hawk.  Such  manifestations  of  courage  and  love,  so  rare 
and  exceptional,  touched  me  to  the  heart,  and  it  was  hard 
to  make  up  my  mind  to  rob  and  kill  the  bird  and  her 
mate,  scolding  in  the  treetop.  I  can  only  offer  in  extenua- 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  63 

tion  that  they  were  the  first  I  had  ever  met  with  in  the 
State,  and  the  strong  desire  to  have  them  in  my  collection. 
The  nest  was  made  of  and  fastened  to  the  limb  with 
silk-like  threads  and  bits  of  cotton  from  plants,  fastened 
together  by  saliva,  and  partly  covered  or  dotted  over  with 
lichen,  and  lined  with  small  stems  of  weeds  and  grass. 
The  beautiful  nest  was  in  plain  sight,  there  being  nothing 
near  to  hide  it  from  view.  It  contained  three  eggs  and 
also  one  of  the  Cowbird  (Molothus  aier).  One  of  the 
eggs  was  broken  by  the  bird  in  her  struggle  to  escape  from 
the  collector's  grasp  while  in  the  nest.  The  color  of  the 
eggs  was  pure  white,  with  a  few  scattering  small  spots  of 
reddish  brown  toward  the  larger  end.  They  each  measure 
.79x.58.  Four  taken  from  another  nest  (a  full  set) 
measure:  .V8x.57,  .80x.58,  .79x.58,  .78x.57. 

I  have  since  noticed  these  birds  in  the  woodlands  on 
several  occasions,  and  on  the  18th  of  May,  1883,  while 
strolling  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Kansas  Kiver,  near 
Topeka,  in  the  timber  skirting  the  stream,  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure to  find  a  pair  of  them  building  a  nest  in  a  honey  locust, 
about  sixteen  feet  from  the  ground,  and  eight  feet  from 
the  body  of  the  tree.  The  nest  was  fastened  to  the  forks  of 
a  small  horizontal  branch.  The  frame  of  the  nest  ap- 
peared to  be  completed.  The  birds  were  busy  at  work, 
the  female  lining  the  nest  with  small,  hair-like  stems,  the 
male  covering  the  outside  with  soft,  lint-like  fibrous  'strip- 
pings  from  plants  (these  closely  resembling  the  limb  and 
its  surroundings),  and  dotting  it  over  with  lichen.  Happy 
in  the  thought  that  he  was  not  only  beautifying  the  home 
of  his  lady  bird,  but  protecting  her  from  view  by  his 
artistic  skill  (notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  had  se- 


64:  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

lected  an  open  and  exposed  situation),  he  could  not  refrain 
from  expressing  his  joy,  at  intervals  during  the  work,  in 
snatches  of  his  sweetest  notes.  The  female,  more  watchful, 
sighted  me,  and  gave  notice  of  the  intrusion.  Quick  as 
thought  the  birds  were  away.  The  male,  alighting  near 
the  top  of  an  adjoining  tree,  at  once  poured  forth  his  song 
in  loudest  notes,  no  doubt  thinking  that  by  attracting  my 
attention  to  him,  I  would  lose  sight  of  the  nest.  Knowing 
it  was  now  too  late  for  concealment,  and  that  any  attempt 
to  hide  away  would  only  increase  their  suspicions,  and 
stop  or  delay  the  work,  I  carelessly  walked  nearer,  in  order 
to  have  a  better  view,  and  lay  down  on  my  back  in  an  open 
space.  In  a  short  time  the  female  returned,  hopped  about 
the  tree,  inspected  me  closely  from  the  lower  limbs,  and 
then  flew  away  and  returned  several  times,  before  bring- 
ing material,  or  venturing  to  approach  the  nest.  But  the 
moment  she  did  so,  the  song  of  the  male  ceased,  and  the 
work  of  building  was  actively  resumed.  As  the  female 
stood  upon  the  top  of  the  nest,  with  head  down  and  inside, 
I  could  not  see  the  manner  of  arranging  the  lining;  but 
as  she  kept  walking  around  upon  the  rim,  I  could,  in 
imagination,  see  her  plaiting  and  weaving  in  and  out  the 
hair-like  stems.  It  was  very  easy  and  interesting,  however, 
to  see  and  note  the  actions  of  the  male,  as  he  deftly  worked 
the  material  into  the  framework,  running  the  longer, 
fibrous,  thread-like  strips  through,  and  then  quickly 
springing  upon  the  top,  and  fastening  them  on  the  inside. 
Then  he  would  rearrange  the  outside,  stopping  a  moment 
to  inspect  the  work,  and  then  off  in  search  of  more  mate- 
rial, occasionally  warbling  a  few  notes  on  the  way ;  but  he 
was  silent  at  the  nest,  while  I  remained  so  near.  At  the 


BIRDS    OP    KANSAS  65 

rate  their  work  was  progressing,  I  think  the  nest  would 
have  been  completed  during  the  day.  I  do  not  know  that 
it  is  the  usual  custom  for  the  female  to  confine  her  labors 
to  the  plain  and  necessary  work,  and  the  male  to  the  decora- 
tive and  ornamental  parts,  but  it  was  so  in  this  case.  It 
may  be  that  the  time  of  laying  was  near  at  .hand,  and  that 
the  female  felt  the  pressing  necessity  for  the  completion 
of  the  interior;  for,  in  such  cases,  I  have  seen  nests  of 
birds  enlarged  and  completed  by  the  males,  while  the 
females  were  sitting  upon  their  treasures. 
'  Eggs  three  to  five,  usually  four;  in  form,  oval. 

X.— WfllTE-KUMPED    SHEIKE. 

Lanius  ludovicianus  excubitorides  ( SWAINS.). 

Summer  resident;  occasionally  lingers  into  winter 
Arrive  early  in  the  spring  ;*  begin  laying  about  the  first 
of  May. 

HABITAT.  The  central  regions  of  North  America,  north 
to  the  Saskatchewan,  southwesterly  to  Lower  California, 
and  over  the  table  lands  of  Mexico ;  occasionally  stragglers 
in  the  States  far  eastward. 

Iris  brown ;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

This  pale  race  of  the  Loggerhead  Shrike  is  similar  to  it 
in  habits  and  actions,  and,  like  it,  occasionally  kills  small 
birds  and  mice,  but  feeds  almost  wholly  upon  grasshop- 
pers, beetles  and  crickets.  It  also  has  the  habit  of  the 
family  of  impaling  its  victims  on  thorns,  etc.,  but  less 
frequently  than  the  Northern  Shrike.  Its  ordinary  voice 
is  harsh  and  creaking.  It  has,  however,  considerable  tal- 
ent in  the  way  of  mimicry,  especially  in  uttering  the  notes 
of  birds  in  distress;  and,  during  the  early  mating  season, 

—5 


66  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

I  have  occasionally  heard  it  sing  from  a  perch  a  rather 
pleasing,  musical  song,  interrupted  at  times  with  its 
harsh,  grating  notes. 

Its  nest  is  placed  in  thorn  trees,  hedges,  briers,  etc. ; 
a  rough,  bulky  structure,  composed  of  small  sticks  and 
stems,  with  bits  of  leaves,  wool,  feathers  and  other  soft, 
fragmentary  substances  sparingly  woven  in,  and  lined 
with  fine  stemlets  of  weeds  and  grass,  and  sometimes  with 
hairs.  Eggs  four  to  six,  1.02x.73  ;  dull  grayish  to  yellow- 
ish white,  spotted  with  varying  shades  of  brown  and  ob- 
scure lilac,  more  or  less  confluent  at  the  larger  end ;  in 
some  cases  thickly  spotted  and  blotched  over  the  entire  sur- 
face, so  as  to  nearly  conceal  the  ground  color;  in  form, 
oval.  A  set  of  five  eggs,  taken  June  5th,  1878,  at  Pewau- 
kee,  Wisconsin,  from  a  nest  in  a  small  thorn  tree,  are,  in 
dimensions:  l.OOx.72,  l.Olx.75,  1.02x.75,  1.03x.73, 
1.05x.73. 

XI.— BAEN    SWALLOW. 
Chelidon  eryihrogaster  (BoDD.). 

Summer  resident;  common.  Arrive  from  about  the 
10th  to  the  last  of  April ;  begin  laying  about  the  middle 
of  May;  leave  the  last  of  August  to  first  of  September. 

HABITAT.  North  America  in  general;  south  in  winter 
into  South  America;  found  breeding  as  far  south  as  the 
City  of  Mexico,  but  breed  chiefly  north  of  the  southern 
United  States. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

These  handsome  Swallows  excel  in  easy  and  graceful 
movements,  in  the  air,  all  others  of  the  family,  and  they 
are,  I  think,  the  swiftest  flyers  among  the  birds.  They  are 
more  evenly  distributed  during  the  breeding  season  than 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  67 

the  Cliff  Swallows,  as  the  mated  pairs  often  nest  alone, 
and  never  in  very  large  communities.  They  are  social 
hirds,  and,  while  mated,  strongly  attached  to  each  other, 
the  male  often  feeding  his  mate  as  she  patiently  and  lov- 
ingly sits  upon  her  treasures,  and  he  also  assists  in  rearing 
the  young.  Their  song  is  but  a  succession  of  sharp, 
squeaky,  warbling  twitterings,  at  times  quite  animated 
and  pleasing;  their  call  note  a  simple  twit. 

Their  nests  are  attached  to  the  sides  of  rafters  in  barns 
and  suitable  places  in  outbuildings,  under  bridges,  etc., 
and,  in  tho  unsettled  portions  of  the  country,  under  over- 
hanging rocks  and  in  the  fissures  or  cavern-like  cavities. 
A  semi-cup-shaped  structure,  rather  roughly  constructed 
of  layers  of  mud  and  grasses,  and  lined  with  the  finer 
grasses  and  feathers.  Eggs  three  to  six  (usually  four), 
.77x.55;  pure  translucent  white,  spotted  and  blotched 
with  purple  and  varying  shades  of  dark  reddish  brown, 
and,  occasionally,  lilac  stains,  usually  aggregating  thick- 
est about  the  larger  end ;  in  form,  oval. 

XII.— AMERICAN   GOLDFINCH. 

Spinus  tristis  (LiNN.). 

Resident ;  abundant  in  winter ;  quite  common  in  sum- 
mer. Begin  laying  late  in  Juno  to  middle  of  July. 
They  nest  late,  in  order  that  the  seeds  upon  which  they 
chiefly  raise  their  young  may  form  and  begin  to  mature 
by  the  time  the  little  ones  are  hatched. 

HABITAT.     Temperate  North  America  generally. 

Iris  dark  brown ;  bill,  terminal  half  of  ridge  dusky, 
rest  straw  color ;  legs  and  feet  light  brown ;  claws  a 
shade  darker. 


68  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

These  hardy,  gregarious,  social  birds  are  largely  resi- 
dents within  their  northern  homes,  moving  southward  as 
the  deep  snow  covers  their  main  supply  of  food,  rather 
than  from  choice  or  habit,  nesting  from  southern  Califor- 
nia, southern  Kansas  and  Kentucky,  northward;  south, 
I  think  only  a  winter  sojourner,  except,  perhaps,  in  moun- 
tainous districts. 

Their  gentle  ways,  bright  colors,  sweet  song,  and  undu- 
lating, chirruping  flight  readily  attract  attention,  and  as- 
sure them,  as  a  rule,  a  welcome,  though  they  are  not 
always  in  good  standing  with  the  gardener,  who  objects 
to  their  taking  at  the  harvest  a  small  share  of  the  ripened 
seeds.  For  this,  they  more  than  repay  by  the  destruction 
of  the  seeds  of  the  many  weeds  and  injurious  plants,  upon 
which  they  largely  feed  throughout  the  winter  months. 
The  thistle  is  a  favorite,  and  they  are  also  very  fond  of 
the  seeds  from  the  cones  of  the  hemlock,  etc.,  and  of  the 
button  balls  of  the  sycamore  trees.  They  are  easily  tamed, 
and  their  low,  warbling  song,  that  at  times  swells  up  quite 
loudly,  much  like  the  Canary,  makes  them  a  favorite  cage 
bird. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  the  branches  of  trees  and 
bushes,  generally  on  apple  or  small  elm  trees,  from  six 
to  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  They  are  constructed  of 
and  firmly  attached  to  the  limbs  on  which  they  rest,  with 
fine  hemp-like  strippings  from  plants  and  bits  of  cottony 
substances,  and  lined  with  hairs,  and  now  and  then  a 
feather.  Eggs  four  to  six,  .65x.50;  pale  bluish  white; 
when  fresh  and  unblown,  with  a  rosy  hue;  in  form,  oval. 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  69 

XIII.— SLATE-COLORED  JUNCO. 

Junco  liy emails  (LmN.). 

Winter  sojourner;  abundant.  The  bulk  leave  in 
March ;  begin  to  return  about  the  middle  of  October. 

HABITAT.  Northern  North  America;  south  in  winter 
throughout  the  eastern  United  States,  and  straggling  west- 
ward to  the  Pacific  coast.  Breeds  from  Nova  Scotia  and 
Maine  to  Alaska. 

Iris  blackish  brown;  bill  white,  with  a  pinkish,  some- 
times bluish  tinge,  dark  at  tips ;  legs  brown ;  feet  dark 
brown ;  claws  black. 

These  hardy  little  birds  are  at  home  in  the  winter 
storms.  They  frequent  the  edges  of  the  woods  and  bor- 
ders of  fields  and  open  lowlands.  A  rather  timid  bird, 
that  only  seeks  the  abode  of  man  when  the  ground  is 
covered  with  snow.  Hunger  then  overcomes  fear,  and 
they  become  a  familiar  bird  about  the  yards  and  stables, 
hopping  nimbly  about  among  the  cattle  and  poultry,  and 
ciigci'ly  picking  up  the  crumbs  and  seeds  scattered  in  the 
dooryards;  returning  to  their  haunts  as  the  snow  melts 
away,  if  not  as  wild,  as  timid  as-ever,  darting  into  cover 
at  the  slightest  disturbance,  but  quickly  returning,  as  if 
forgetful  of  the  scare.  They  associate  together  in  small 
flocks,  except  during  the  mated  season,  but  are  of  rather  a 
quarrelsome  nature,  and  not  a  real  social,  happy  group. 
When  at  rest,  they  perch  in  the  bushes  and  trees  near  the 
ground,  rarely  ever  flying  into  the  tall  tree  tops.  Their 
usual  chip  call  note  sounds  much  like  that  of  the  Chipping 
Sparrow.  In  the  early  spring,  as  the  warm  weather 
awakens  the  passions  of  love,  the  males  begin  to  think 


70  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

of  mating,  and  rattle  off  a  rather  low,  pleasing  song. 
They  are  not  constant  singers,  their  voices  being  seldom 
heard  except  in  the  morning  and  during  the  early  breed- 
ing season. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  a  depression  in  the  ground, 
under  logs  and  in  various  sheltered  situations.  I  found 
a  nest  in  Nova  Scotia,  under  an  upturned  root  of  a  tree. 
They  are  also  said  to  occasionally  nest  in  low  bushes. 
Their  nests  are  made  of  dry  grasses,  strippings  from 
plants,  and  hairs,  sometimes  lined  with  fine  grasses,  bits 
of  moss,  etc.  Eggs  usually  four  to  five,  .75x.5S ;  whitish 
to  bluish  green,  speckled  and  blotched  chiefly  about  the 
larger  end  with  dark  reddish  brown  and  lilac;  in  form, 
oval. 

XIV.— FOX   SPAKKOW. 
Passerella  iliaca  (MERE.). 

Winter  sojourner ;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State,  rare  in  the  western  portion.  Leave  in  March ; 
return  in  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  west  to  the  plains 
and  Alaska ;  north  to  or  near  the  Arctic  regions ;  winters 
from  the  southern  portion  of  the  Middle  States  southward 
to  the  Gulf  coast;  breeds  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  Labrador  to  Alaska. 

Iris  brown ;  bill — upper  dusky,  with  edges  of  the  same 
and  lower  mandible  straw  color;  legs  and  feet  dark  flesh 
color ;  claws  brown. 

This  large,  plump,  handsome  Sparrow  inhabits  the 
tangled  thickets  and  sheltered  ravines.  It  is  largely  ter- 
restrial in  its  habits,  and,  like  the  Towhees,  puts  in  most 
of  its  time  scratching  among  the  dead  leaves  for  food. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  71 

A  rather  timid  bird,  that  darts  into  the  thickest  growths 
at  the  least  alarm,  uttering,  as  it  starts,  a  sharp  chup  note. 
It  also  has  a  soft,  Sparrow-like  chip,  or  call  note,  and 
occasionally  utters  a  few  low,  soft,  warbling  notes;  but 
its  charming  love  song  is  only  heard  during  the  breeding 
season.  It  is  rather  short,  but  unsurpassed  in  melody 
by  any  of  the  family. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1879,  I  found  them  breeding  on 
Byron  Isle,  one  of  the  Magdalen  group,  in  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  for  their 
eggs,  as  their  young  birds  were  nearly  full  grown.  From 
actions,  I  think  the  parent  birds  were  preparing  to  rear 
another  brood,  as  the  males  were  singing  almost  con- 
stantly, from  early  morn  till  late  at  night;  but  their 
song,  so  rich  and  silvery  in  its  tone,  was  ever  welcomed, 
and  never  seemed  tiresome,  and  I  think  they  rank  next 
to  our  Thrushes  and  Wrens  as  songsters. 

Their  nests  are  usually  placed  on  the  ground,  in  con- 
cealed places,  occasionally  in  bushes.  Mr.  Nelson,  in  his 
kt  Report  upon  Natural  Historical  Collections  in  Alaska," 
gives  the  following  minute  description  of  a  nest  and  its 


"  On  June  5th,  1880,  a  pair  was  shot,  in  a  thicket  near 
St.  Michael's,  and  the  nest  secured.  The  nest  obtained  is 
a  very  strong,  compact  structure,  four  and  a  half  inches 
across  by  two  and  three-fourths  high,  having  a  central 
cavity  one  pud  three-fourths  inches  deep  by  two  and 
three-fourths  across.  The  outer  part  of  the  nest  is  made 
of  a  thin,  compact  layer  of  green  moss,  with  a  few  dead 
leaves.  Inside  is  a  thin  layer  of  dried  grass,  running  circu- 
larly up  the  inside  of  the  nest;  this  again  is  lined  with 


72 


TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 


a  handsomely  cross-woven  layer  of  wiry  black  moss  fibers 
and  chestnut  club-moss  stems;  the  whole  being  a  very 
well  made  and  handsome  structure,  in  which  were  three 
eggs  with  a  clayey  greenish  ground  color;  two  of  them 
are  thickly  and  uniformly  dotted  with  d-ull  reddish  brown : 
between  the  dots  the  ground  color  shows  plainly  in  many 
places;  the  third  egg  is  so  densely  dotted  with  reddish 
brown  and  chocolate  that  the  ground  color  can  hardly  be 
traced,  in  a  few  places.  This  egg  measures  .90x.70;  the 
other  two,  .89x.68  and  .90x.68." 
Eggs  three  to  five;  in  form,  oval. 

XV.— MEADOWLARK. 

Sturnella  magna  (LINN.).. 

Resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  and  middle  portion 
of  the  State ;  rare  in  the  western.  Begin  laying  early  in 
May. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  north  to  Nova 
Scotia  and  Canada ;  west  to  the  edge  of  the  Great  Plains. 
Breeds  throughout  its  range. 

Iris  brown;  bill  reddish  to  olive  brown,  with  basal 
half  of  under  pale  bluish;  legs  light  bluish  flesh  color; 
feet,  especially  the  joints,  darker;  claws  brown. 

These  well-known,  plump,  pretty  birds  inhabit  the  prai- 
ries and  open  grass  lands,  where,  during  the  summer 
months,  they  feed  almost  exclusively  upon  beetles,  grass- 
hoppers, etc.,  and  in  winter  upon  the  fallen  seeds  and 
grains,  often  visiting  the  cattle  yards;  harmless,  beauti- 
ful birds,  in  no  sense  injurious,  and  therefore  general 
favorites.  They  are  very  hardy,  wintering  from  the  Mid- 
dle States  southward,  and  the  earliest  of  our  spring  song- 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  •  73 

sters.  Mounted  upon  a  fence  post,  bush  or  knoll,  they 
repeat  at  intervals  their  whistling  notes,  not  varied  but 
pleasing,  and  expressive  of  tenderness  and  joy.  Their 
flights  are  rather  laborious,  an  alternate  changing  from  a 
rapid  vibration  of  the  wings  to  sailing;  terrestrial  birds, 
that  during  the  breeding  season -remain  in  pairs,  but  are 
afterwards  usually  met. with  in  small  flocks  or  family 
groups. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground,  in  a  thick  tuft  of 
grass,  composed  of  grasses,  which  are  often  interwoven 
so  as  to  form  a  cover  overhead.  Eggs  four  to.  six, 
l.lOx.80;  white,  finely  spotted  with  lilac  and  reddish 
brown;  in  form,  oval. 

XVI.— BOBOLINK. 

Dolictionyx   oryzivorus    (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  very  rare;  during  migration  quite 
common.  Arrive  the  last  of  April  to  middle  of  May ; 
begin  laying  the  last  of  May;  return  in  September. 

In  the  early  part  of  June,  1867,  I  found  a  pair  in  An- 
derson county,  and  from  actions  was  positive  the  birds 
had  a  nest  near  by,  but  was  unable  to  find  it,  and  I  have 
in  "  The  Goss  Ornithological  Collection "  a  male  shot 
May  23d,  1877,  near  Neosho  Falls,  out  of  a  small  flock. 
I  have  often  met  with  them  in  the  State  since,  but  cannot 
recall  seeing  them  later  than  the  middle  of  May,  and  I 
think  their  remaining  so  late,  or  breeding  so  far  south, 
rare  and  exceptional,  and  that  latitude  40°  to  41°  is  their 
southern  breeding  limit,  and  54°  their  northern. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  north  into  the  fur 
regions ;  west  to  the  high  plains ;  south  to  South  Amer- 
ica; West  Indies. 


74  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

Iris  brown;  bill,  upper  blackish,  under  bluish,  with 
the  end  rlusky;  legs  and  feet  brown;  claws  dark  brown. 

The  following  description  of  this  familiar  species  is 
from  "  North  American  Land  Birds,"  Vol.  II,  p.  150 : 

"  Of  all  our  unimitative  and  natural  songsters,  the 
Bobolink  is  by  far  the  most  popular  and  attractive.  Al- 
ways original,  and  peculiarly  natural,  its  song  is  exquis- 
itely musical.  In  the  variety  of  its  notes,  in  the  rapidity 
with  which  they  are  uttered,  and  in  the  touching  pathos, 
beauty  and  melody  of  their  tone  and  expression,  its  notes 
are  .not  equaled  by  those  of  any  other  North  American 
bird.  We  know  of  none  among  our  native  feathered 
songsters  whose  song  resembles  or  can  be  campared  with 
it. 

"  In  the  earliest  apprqaches  of  spring,  in  Louisiana, 
when  small  flocks  of  male  Bobolinks  make  their  first  ap- 
pearance, they  are  said  by  Mr.  Audubon  to  sing  in  con- 
cert; and  their  song,  thus  given,  is  at  once  exceedingly 
novel,  interesting,  and  striking.  Uttered  with  a  volubil- 
ity that  even  borders  upon  the  burlesque  and  the  ludi- 
crous, the  whole  effect  is  greatly  heightened  by  the  singu- 
lar and  striking  manner  in  which  first  one  singer,  and 
then  another,  one  following  the  other,  until  all  have 
joined  their  voices,  take  up  the  note  and  strike  in,  after 
the  leader  has  set  the.  example  and  given  the  signal.  In 
this  manner,  sometimes  a  party  of  thirty  or  forty  Bobo- 
links will  begin,  one  after  the  other,  until  the  whole  unite 
in  producing  an  extraordinary  medley,  to  which  no  pen 
can  do  justice,  but  which  is  described  as  very  pleasant  to 
listen  to.  All  at  once  the  music  ceases,  with  a  suddenness 
not  less  striking  than  extraordinary.  These  concerts  are 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  75 

repeated  from  time  to  time,  usually  as  often  as  the  flock 
alights.  This  performance  may  also  be  witnessed  early 
in  April,  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington,  the  Smithsonian 
grounds  being  a  favorite  place  of  resort. 

"  By  the  time  these  birds  have  reached  in  their  spring 
migrations  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude,  they  no  longer 
move  in  large  flocks,  but  have  begun  to  separate  into 
small  parties  and,  finally,  into  pairs.  In  New  England 
the  Bobolink  treats  us"  to  no  such  concerts  as  those  de- 
scribed by  Audubon,  where  many  voices  join  in  creating 
their  peculiar,  jingling  melody.  When  they  first  appear, 
usually  after  the  middle  of  May,  they  are  in  small  parties, 
composed  of  either  sex,  absorbed  in  their  courtships  and 
overflowing  with  song.  When  two  or  three  male  Bobo- 
links, decked  out  in  their  gayest  spring  apparel,  are  pay- 
ing their  attentions  to  the  same  drab-colored  female,  con- 
trasting so  strikingly  in  her  sober  brown  dress,  their  per- 
formances are  quite  entertaining,  each  male  endeavoring 
to  outsing  the  others.  The  female  appears  coy  and  re- 
tiring, keeping  closely  to  the  ground,  but  always  attended 
by  the  several  aspirants  for  her  affection.  After  a  contest, 
often  quite  exciting,  the  rivalries  are  adjusted,  the  re- 
jected suitors  are  driven  off  by  their  more  fortunate  com- 
petitor, and  the  happy  pair  begin  to  put  in  order  a  new 
home.  It  is  in  these  love  quarrels  that  their  song  appears 
to  the  greatest  advantage.  They  pour  out  incessantly 
their  strains  of  quaint  but  charming  music,  now  on  the 
ground,  now  on  the  wing,  now  on  the  top  of  a  fence,  a 
low  bush  or  a  swaying  stalk  of  a  plant  that  bends  with 
their  weight.  .  The  great  length  of  their  song,  the  im- 
mense number  of  short,  variable  notes  of  which  it  is  com- 


76 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 


posed,  the  volubility  and  confused  rapidity  with  which 
they  are  poured  forth,  the  eccentric  breaks,  in  the  midst 
of  which  we  detect  the  words  '  Bob-o-link '  so  distinctly 
enunciated,  unite  to  form  a  general  result  to  which  we 
can  find  no  parallel  in  any  of  the  musical  performances 
of  our  other  song  birds.  It  is  at  once  a  unique  and 
a  charming  production.  Nuttall  speaks  of  their  song  as 
monotonous,  which  is  neither  true  nor  consistent  with  his 
own  description  of  it.  To  other  e"ars  they  seem  ever  won- 
derfully full  of  variety,  pathos  and  beauty. 

"  When  their  contests  are  ended,  and  the  mated  pair 
take  possession  of  their  selected  meadow,  and  prepare  to 
construct  their  nest  and  rear  their  family,  then  we  may 
find  the  male  bird  hovering  in  the  air  over  the  spot  where 
his  homely  partner  is  brooding  over  her  charge.  All  this 
while  he  is  warbling  forth  his  incessant  and  happy  love 
song;  or  else  he  is  swinging  on  some  slender  stalk  or 
weed  that  bends  under  him,  ever  overflowing  with  song 
and  eloquent  with  melody.  As  domestic  cares  and  paternal 
responsibilities  increase,  his  song  becomes  less  and  less 
frequent.  After  a  while  it  has  degenerated  into  a  few 
short  notes,  and  at  length  ceases  altogether.  The  young 
in  due  time  assume  the  development  of  mature  birds, 
and  all  wear  the  sober  plumage  of  the  mother.  And  now 
there  also  appears  a  surprising  change  in  the  appearance 
of  our  gaily  attired  musician.  His  showy  plumage  of 
contrasting  white  and  black,  so  conspicuous  and  striking, 
changes  with  almost  instant  rapidity  into  brown  and 
drab,  until  he  is  no  longer  distinguishable,  either  by 
plumage  or  note,  from  his  mate  or  young. 

"  At  the  north,  where  the  Bobolink  breeds,  they  are  not 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  77 

known  to  molest  the  crops,  confining  their  food  almost  en- 
tirely to  insects,  or  the  seeds  of  valueless  weeds,  in  the 
consumption  of  which  they  confer  benefit  rather  than 
harm.  At  the  south,  they  are  accused  of  injuring  the 
young  wheat  as  they  pass  northward  in  their  spring  mi- 
grations, and  of  plundering  the  rice  plantations  on  their 
return.  About  the  middle  of  August  they  appear  in  al- 
most innumerable  flocks  among  the  marshes  of  the  Dela- 
ware river.  There  they  are  known  as  the  Reedbirds. 
Two  weeks  later  they  begin  to  swarm  among  the  rice  plan- 
tations of  South  Carolina.  There  they  take  the  name  of 
Eicebirds.  In  October  they  again  pass  on  southward,  and 
make  another  halt  among  the  West  India  Islands.  There 
they  feed  upon  the  seeds  of  the  Guinea  grass,  upon  which 
they  become  exceedingly  fat.  In  Jamaica  they  receive  a 
new  appellation  and  are  called  Butterbirds.  They  are 
everywhere  sought  after  by  sportsmen,  and  are  shot  in 
immense  numbers  for  the  table  of  the  epicure.  More  re- 
cently it  has  been  ascertained  that  these  birds  feed  greed- 
ily upon  the  larva  of  the  destructive  cotton  worm,  and  in 
so  doing  render  an  immense  service  to  the  cultivators  of 
Sea  Island  cotton." 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  a  depression  on  the  ground, 
in  the  grass,  in  the  low  bottom  lands,  composed  of  slen- 
der, wire-like  stems  of  grasses.  Eggs  four  or  five,  .85x- 
.63 ;  ashy  white,  evenly  specked  with  light  drab  to  gray- 
ish and  reddish  brown,  and  pale  surface  markings  in  the 
shell;  in  form,  oval.  A  set  of  four,  taken  June  2d, 
1867,  at  Pewaukee,  Wisconsin,  from  a  nest  on  marshy 
grounds,  only  measure:  .78x.63,  .80x.61,  .80x.63,  .85x- 


78  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

XVII.— COWBIRD. 

Molothrus  ater   (BoDD.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant.  Arrive  early  in  March 
to  first  of  April ;  begin  laying  about  the  last  of  May ; 
return  in  October ;  occasionally  linger  into  November. 

HABITAT.  The  United  States,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific ;  north  into  the  southern  British  possessions ; 
south  in  winter  to  southern  Mexico. 

Iris  brown;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

This  widely  distributed  species  are  strictly  gregarious 
and  polygamous  in  their  habits,  and  indiscriminate  caters 
of  seeds,  grains,  berries  and  insects.  During  the  winter 
months,  in  company  with  the  Boboliiik  and  Red-winged 
Blackbird,  do  much  damage  in  the  rice  fields,  and  are  to 
be  looked  for  in  summer  about  the  corrals  and  grazing 
grounds,  following  the  cattle  and  horses  about  over  the 
range  to  catch  the  flies  that  bite  and  annoy  them;  wel- 
come friends,  they  are  allowed  to  perch  and  rest  upon 
their  backs  at  pleasure.  In  spring  and  early  summer 
the  males,  with  raised  feathers,  spread  tails  and  throats 
puffed  out,  utter  a  guttural  song,  or  rather  attempt  fit 
one,  which  is  no  doubt  pleasing  to  the  females,  but  in 
all  of  their  amourous  actions  there  appears  to  be  but 
little  rivalry  or  jealousy — a  happy  family  of  free-lovers. 

These  birds  never  build  a  nest,  but  drop  their  eggs  into 
the  nests  of  smaller  birds ;  in  doing  so,  do  not  try  to  take 
possession  by  force,  but  by  stealth,  during  the  absence  of 
the  owners,  and,  as  these  birds  are  polygamous,  exhibit  no 
conjugal  affection  or  love  for  their  offispring,  leaving  the 
labor  and  care  of  hatching  and  rearing  their  young  to 


BIRDS  OF  KANSAS  79 

their  foster  parents ;  and  I  find  by  observation  that  the 
egg  or  eggs  so  dropped  are  the  first  to  hatch,  and  being 
much  the  larger  and  stronger,  receive  the  greater  share  of 
food,  the  rightful  little  claimants  being  soon  trodden  to 
death  or  crowded  out  of  their  home. 

On  account  of  their  manner  of  laying,  we  have  no  way 
of  determining  the  number  of  eggs  laid  in  a  season.  As 
a  rule,  but  one  egg  is  found  in  a  nest,  and  I  think  that, 
with  a  view  to  survival,  the  bird  distributes  her  eggs, 
and  that  the  extra  ones  occasionally  found- are  the  eggs  of 
different  Cowbirds.  They  vary  greatly  in  size,  averaging 
about  .85x.63;  bluish  white,  thickly  spotted  and  speckled 
with  ashy  to  reddish  brown  and  occasional  splashes  of 
purple;  in  form,  oval. 

XVIII.— BALTIMOKE    OKIOLE. 

Icterus  galbula   (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  common.  Arrive  the  last  of  April 
to  first  of  May ;  begin  laying  the  last  of  May ;  return  the 
last  of  August  to  middle  of  September. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  north  to  New 
Brunswick  and  Manitoba,  west  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  south  in  winter  to  Panama. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  ridge  black,'  rest  light  blue; 
legs,  feet  and  claws  dark  blue. 

This  familiar  Oriole  is  very  similar  in  habits  to  the 
Orchard,  but  is  less  lively  in  actions,  and  ranges  much 
farther  north.  The  males  arrive  in  the  spring  at  least 
a  week  ahead  of  the  females,  and  their  brilliant  plumago 
and  varied  mellow  whistling  song  insure  them  a  welcome. 
The-  females  also  occasionally  warble  a  few  low,  pleasing 


80  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

notes.  They  are  very  beneficial  in  their  destruction  of 
caterpillars  and  other  injurious  worms  and  insects,  upon 
which  they  almost  wholly  subsist,  occasionally  plucking 
for  a  dessert  a  berry  from  a  bush  or  a  pea  from  the  pod ; 
but  never  claim  a  hundredth  part  of  the  share  to  which 
they  are  rightfully  entitled. 

Their  nests  are  suspended  from  the  extremities  of 
branches  (the  elm  appears  to  be  the  favorite  tree),  fifteen  . 
to  forty  feet  from  the  ground ;  a  compact,  strongly-woven, 
.deep,  purse-like  structure,  composed  of  and  attached  to  the 
twigs  from  which  it  hangs,  with  flax-like  strippings  from 
plants  and  vines,  and  lined  with  hair-like  stems  of  grasses ; 
when  in  the  vicinity  of  dwellings,  twine  and  thread  are 
used  largely  in  its  makeup.  Eggs  four  or  five,  .92x.60; 
pale  bluish  white,  with  a  rosy  hue  when  fresh,  marked 
with  long,  waving  lines  and  spots  of  purple  and  blackish 
brown,  chiefly  at  larger  end;  in  form,  oval  to  ovate. 

XIX.— OECHARD   OEIOLE. 

Icterus  spurius  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant.  Arrive  the  last  of  April 
to  first  of  May;  begin  laying  the  last  of  May;  return 
the  last  of  August  to  middle  of  September. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States;  west  to  the  base  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  south  in  winter  to  Panama. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  upper  black,  under  pale  blue; 
legs,  feet  and  claws  bluish  black. 

This  species  is  rarely  met  with  in  the  northern  United 
States,  but  is  very  common  in  the  middle  and  southern 
portions.  Its  favorite  resorts  are  along  the  prairie  streams 
skirted  with  timber,  and  the  groves  and  orchards  about 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  .  81 

our  dwellings;  an  active,  restless  bird,  ever  upon  the 
move,  flying  and  hopping  about  among  the  branches  of 
trees,  often  swinging  head  downward  in  its  search  for 
insect  life,  upon  which  it  almost  wholly  feeds  during  the 
early  breeding  season,  singing  as  it  flies,  or  from  the  perch 
littering  its  hurried  but  pleasing  song,  which  is  occasion- 
ally heard  in  autumn. 

Their  nests  are  suspended  from  twigs,  at  the  end  of 
branches  of  small  trees,  along  the  banks  of  streams  and 
in  orchards  and  gardens ;  a  beautiful  hemispherical  nest, 
made  wholly  of  a  long,  slender,  wire-like  grass,  and  occa- 
sionally bits  of  a  cottony  substance,  neatly  and  ingen- 
iously woven  together  and  around  the  leaf-like  twigs  that 
support  it.  Eggs  four  or  five,  .85x.60;  pale  bluish  white, 
thinly  marked  with  specks  and  zigzag  lines  of  light  to 
reddish  brown  and  lilac,  thickest  about  larger  end;  in 
form,  oval. 

XX.— BLUE    JAY. 

Cyanocitta  cristata  (LiNN.). 

Eesident ;  abundant  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State ; 
common  along  the  streams,  where  skirted  with  trees,  to  a 
little  beyond  the  center;  not  observed  in  the  extreme 
western  part.  Begin  laying  the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States,  except  Florida 
(where  they  are  replaced  by  0.  cristata  florincola')  ;  north 
into  the  fur  regions  of  the  British  possessions;  west  to 
the  Great  Plains. 

Iris  dark  brown ;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

I  know  that  I  cannot  please  the  reader  better  than  by 
giving  the  following  interesting  description,  by  ISTuttall, 
6— 


82  .         TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

of  this  handsome,  conspicuous  bird,  of  questionable  char- 
acter, wherein  he  says: 

"  The  Blue  Jay  is  a  constant  inhabitant  both  of  the 
wooded  wilderness  and  the  vicinity  of  the  settled  farm, 
though  more  familiar  at  the  approach  of  winter  and  early 
in  spring  than  at  any  other  season.  These  wanderings  or 
limited  migrations  are  induced  by  necessity  alone;  his 
hoards  of  grain,  nuts  and  acorns  either  have  failed  or  are 
forgotten;  for,  like  other  misers,  he  is  more  assiduous 
to  amass  than  to  expend  or  enjoy  his  stores,  and  the  fruits 
of  his  labors  very  frequently  devolve  to  the  rats  or  squir- 
rels, or  accidentally  assist  in  the  replanting  of  the  forest. 
His  visits  at  this  time  are  not  unfrequent  in  the  garden 
and  orchard,  and  his  usual  petulant  address  of  "  Djay, 
jay,  jay,"  and  other  harsh  and  trumpeting  articulations, 
soon  make  his  retreat  known  to  all  in  the  neighborhood. 
So  habitual  is  this  sentinel  cry  of  alarm,  and  so  expressive, 
that  all  the  birds  within  call,  as  well  as  other  wild  ani- 
mals, are  instantly  on  the  alert,  so  that  the  fowler  and 
hunter  become  generally  disappointed  of  their  game  by  this 
his  garrulous  and  noisy  propensity;  he  is,  therefore,  for 
his  petulance,  frequently  killed  without  pity  or  profit,  for 
his  flesh,  though  eaten,  has  little  to  recommend  it.  His 
more  complaisant  notes,  when  undisturbed,  though  gut- 
tural and  echoing,  are  by  no  means  unpleasant,  and  fall  in 
harmoniously  with  the  cadence  of  the  feathered  choristers 
around  him,  so  as  to  form  a  finishing  part  to  the  general 
music  of  the  grove.  His  accents  of  blandishment,  when 
influenced  by  the  softer  passions,  are  low  and  musical,  so 
as  to  be  scarcely  heard  beyond  the  thick  branches  where  he 
sits  concealed  ;  but,  as  soon  as  discovered,  he  bursts  out  into 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  83 

notes  of  rage  and  reproach,  accompanying  his  voice  by 
jerks  and  actions  of  temerity  and  defiance.  .  .  .  He 
also  exhibits  a  great  antipathy  to  the  Owl,  and  by  his  loud 
and  savage  vociferation  soon  brings  together  a  noisy  troop 
of  all  the  busy  birds  in  the  neighborhood.  To  this  garru- 
lous attack  the  night  wanderer  has  no  reply  but  a  threaten- 
ing stare  of  indifference,  and,  as  soon  as  opportunity 
offers,  he  quietly  slips  from  his  slandering  company.  Ad- 
vantage, in  some  countries,  is  taken  of  this  dislike  for  the 
purpose  of  catching  birds ;  thus  the  Owl  being  let  out  of  a 
box,  sometimes  makes  a  hoot,  which  instantly  assembles 
a  motley  group,  who  are  then  caught  by  liming  the  neigh- 
boring twigs  on  which  they  perch.  In  this  gossip  the  Jay 
and  Crow  are  always  sure  to  take  a  part,  if  within  sight 
or  hearing  of  the  call,  and  are  thus  caught  or  destroyed  at 
will.  The  common  Jay  is  even  fond  of  imitating  the 
harsh  voice  of  the  Owl  and  the  noisy  Kestril.  I  have  also 
heard  the  Blue  Jay  mock,  with  a  taunting  accent,  the 
'  Ke-oo,  ke-oo,'  or  quailing  of  the  Red-shouldered  Hawk. 
Wilson  likewise  heard  him  take  singular  satisfaction  in 
teasing  and  mocking  the  ljt£le..  American  Sparrow  Hawk, 
and  imposing  upon  him  by  the  pretended  plaints  of  a 
wounded  bird,  in  which  frolic  several  would  appear  to 
join,  until  their  sport  sometimes  ended  in  sudden  conster- 
nation, by  the  Hawk,  justly  enough,  pouncing  on  one  of 
them  as  his  legitimate  and  devoted  prey. 

"  His  talent  for  mimicry,  when  domesticated,  is  like- 
wise so  far  capable  of  improvement  as  to  enable  him  to 
imitate  human  speech,  articulating  words  with  some  dis- 
tinctness ;  and  on  hearing  voices,  like  a  parrot,  he  would 
endeavor  to  contribute  his  important  share  to  the  tumult. 


84  TWENTIETH    CENTUEY    CLASSICS 

Bewick  remarks  of  the  common  Jay,  that  he  heard  one  so 
exactly  counterfeit  the  action  of  a  saw,  that  though  on  a 
Sunday,  he  could  scarcely  be  persuaded  but  that  some  car- 
penter was  at  work.  Another,  unfortunately,  rendered 
himself  a  serious  nuisance  by  learning  to  hound  a  cur  dog 
upon  the  domestic  cattle,  whistling  and  calling  him  by 
name,  so  that  at  length  a  serious  accident  occurring  in 
consequence,  the  poor  Jay  was  proscribed.  The  Blue  Jay 
becomes  also,  like  the  Crow  and  Magpie,  a  very  mischiev- 
ous purloiner  of  everything  he  is  capable  of  conveying 
away  and  hiding. 

"  The  favorite  food  of  this  species  is  chestnuts,  acorns, 
and  Indian  corn  or  maize,  the  latter  of  which  he  breaks 
before  swallowing.  He  also  feeds  occasionally  on  the 
larger  insects  and  caterpillars,  as  well  as  orchard  fruits, 
particularly  cherries,  and  does  not  even  refuse  the  humble 
fare  of  potatoes.  In  times  of  scarcity  he  falls  upon  carrion, 
and  has  been  known  to  venture  into  the  barn,  through  acci- 
dental openings;  when,  as  if  sensible  of  the  danger  of 
purloining,  he  is  active  and  silent,  and  if  surprised,  post- 
poning his  garrulity,  he  retreats  with  noiseless  precipita- 
tion, and  with  all  the  cowardice  of  a  thief.  The  worst 
trait  of  his  appetite,  however,  is  his  relish  for  the  eggs 
of  other  birds,  in  quest  of  which  he  may  frequently  be 
seen  prowling,  and  with  a  savage  cruelty  he  sometimes  also 
devours  the  callow  young,  spreading  the  plaint  of  sorrow 
and  alarm  wherever  he  flits.  The  whole  neighboring 
community  of  little  birds  assemble  at  the  cry  of  distress, 
sometimes,  however,  succeeding  in  driving  off  the  ruthless 
plunderer,  who,  not  always  content  with  the  young,  has 
been  seen  to  attack  the  old,  though  with  dubious  success; 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  85 

but  to  the  gallant  and  quarrelsome  Kingbird,  he  submits 
like  a  coward,  and  driven  to  seek  shelter,  even  on  the 
ground,  from  the  repeated  blows  of  his  antagonist,  sneaks 
off  well  contented  to  save  his  life." 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  branches,  near  the  trunks  or 
bodies  of  trees  and  bushes,  in  the  forests,  and  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  dwellings,  six  to  thirty  feet  from  the  ground. 
They  are  rudely  composed  of  small  sticks,  roots  and  various 
kinds  of  material  at  hand,  strongly  interwoven,  and  lined 
with  fine  rootlets.  Eggs  four  or  five,  1.10x.82 ;  olive, 
sparingly  spotted  with  drab  and  olive  brown;  in  form, 
ovate. 

XXI.— AMERICAN   CROW. 
Corvus  americanus  (Amx). 

Resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State, 
not  common  in  the  western  portion.  Begin  laying  the 
last  of  March  to  the  first  of  April. 

HABITAT.  North  America,  from  the  fur  countries  to 
Mexico. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

As  much  as  I  love  the  birds,  I  cannot  find  it  in  my 
heart  to  put  in  a  plea  for  this  well  known  nest-robber  and 
bird  of  ill  repute,  for  their  thievish  propensities  are  too 
great  to  attempt  to  show  that  the  good  they  do  overbalances 
the  harm.  Various  are  the  ways  resorted  to  by  the  farmer 
to  not  only  scare  them  away  but  to  destroy  them.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  cunning,  sagacious  birds  manage 
to  live  and  thrive  in  their  midst.  They  are  rather  gre- 
garious and  social  in  their  habits,  often  assembling  together 
in  large  flocks,  and  they  select  and  have  common  roosting 
places,  where  they  gather  from  miles  and  miles  around, 


86  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

arriving  silently  at.  eve,  and  stealing  away  at  early  dawn. 
Their  flights  are  direct  and  well  sustained. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  the  forks  of  trees,  in  groves 
and  on  the  timbered  bottom  lands,  thirty  to  seventy  feet 
from  the  ground.  They  are  composed  of  sticks  and  lined 
with  grasses,  fibrous  stripping^  from  plants,  and  hairs. 
Eggs  four  or  five,  1.65x1.20;  light  to  dark  green,  and 
irregularly  spotted,  splashed  or  blotched  with  various 
shades  of  pale  to  dark  brown  and  purple,  usually  the 
thickest  around  the  larger  end;  in  form,  oval  to  ovate. 

XXII.— KINGBIRD. 

Tyrannus  tyrannus  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident ;  abundant.  Arrive  the  last  of  April ; 
begin  laying  about  the  middle  of  May;  return  in  Sep- 
tember. 

HABITAT.  Temperate  North  America,  chiefly  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains;  very  rare  on  the  Pacific  coast;  south 
in  winter  into  northern  South  America. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill  and  claws  black;  legs  and  feet 
grayish  to  brownish  black. 

This  common  and  well  known  species  are  rightly  en- 
titled to  the  name  they  bear,  on  account  of  their  brave, 
audacious  attacks  upon  th.e  birds  of  prey  and  others  in- 
truding upon  their  breeding  grounds.  This  combative 
spirit,  however,  closes,  with  the  season,  and  their  shrill, 
twittering  notes  are  seldom  heard  after  the  young  are  capa- 
ble of  providing  for  themselves.  The  males  arrive  about 
a  week  in  advance,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  females,  many 
a  hard  battle  is  fought  for  the  choice.  Their  courtships 
are  short,  and,  when  once  mated,  they  are.  true  and  devoted, 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  87 

and  zealous  guardians  of  their  homes.  The  following 
truthful  description  is  from  "  Birds  of  New  England, ' 
by  Samuels: 

"  During  the  mating  and  breeding  season,  the  pugnac- 
ity and  courage  of  the  Kingbird  are  proverbial.  If  any 
bird  approach  the  neighborhood  of  his  nest,  he  immedi- 
ately attacks  it ;  and,  whether  Crow  (his  particular  dis- 
like), Hawk  or  Eagle,  the  intruder  is  obliged  to  flee,  so 
fierce  an  onslaught  does  this  little  warrior  make  on  him. 
As  soon  as  the  cry  of  a  Crow  is  heard,  he  is  all  activity; 
he  flies  from  the  tree  where  he  is  perching  to  reconnoiter, 
uttering  his  shrill  twitter,  and  vibrating  his  wings  in 
short,  quick,  nervous  strokes ;  as  soon  as  the  Crow  appears, 
the  Kingbird  pursues  it,  his  flight  being  now  very  swift 
and  powerful.  As  soon  as  he  nears  his  foe,  he  flies  above 
him,  and  darting  down  on  his  back  and  head,  attacks  him 
with  such  vigor,  that  the  Crow  dives  and  dodges  to  avoid 
him.  He  repeats  his  attacks,  and  follows  his  enemy, 
sometimes  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more ;  then,  return- 
ing to  his  mate,  he  perches  on  the  tree  by  her  nest,  and 
twitters  a  volley  of  courageous  songs."  [Song  is  not  the 
word,  for  its  notes  are  not  musical,  but  rather  a  harsh, 
exulting  twitter.] 

"  The  food  of  the  Kingbird  consists  mostly  of  insects,* 
which  he  captures  usually  while  on  the  wing.  It  seems 
a  provision  of  nature,  that  all  the  flycatchers  shall  only 
take  those  insects  that  have  taken  flight  from  the  foliage 
of  trees  and  shrubs,  at  the  same  time  making  the  warblers 
and  other  birds  capture  those  which  remain  concealed  in 
such  places.  The  Kingbird,  in  seizing  a  flying  insect, 

*  Berries  also  help  to  make  up  their  bill  of  fare,  the  pokeberry  being  the  favorite. 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

flies  in  a  sort  of  half  flitting  hover,  and  seizes  it  with  a 
sharp  snap  of  the  bill.  Sometimes  he  descends  from  his 
perch  and  captures  a  grasshopper  that  has  just  taken  a 
short  flight,  and  occasionally  seizes  one  that  is  crawling 
up  some  tall  stalk  of  grass.  Those  farmers  who  keep  bees 
dislike  this  bird,  because  of  his  bad  habit  of  eating  as 
many  of  those  insects  as  show  themselves  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  his  nest;  but  they  should  remember  that  the 
general  interests  of  agriculture  are  greater  than  those  of  a 
hive  of  bees." 

Their  nests  are  usually  placed  on  branches  of  trees,  in 
open  and  exposed  situations,  six  to  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground ;  in  treeless  localities,  in  almost  any  available 
place;  a  rather  bulky,  flat  structure,  composed  of  stems 
of  weeds  and  grasses,  and  lined  with  hair-like  rootlets, 
and  often,  woven  in  with  the  same,  bits  of  rags  and  twine. 
Eggs  three  to  six,  usually  four,  .90x.68.  They  vary  greatly 
in  size,  and  measurements  as  high  as  1.05x.75  have  been 
given.  (Ridgway  says  .95x.69.)  A  set  of  four  eggs, 
taken  at  Neosho  Falls,  only  measure:  .Y8x.64,  .79x.65, 
.80x.66,  .82x.67;  white  to  creamy  white,  thinly  spotted 
with  purple  to  dark  reddish  brown;  in  form,  ovate. 

XXIII.— RUBY-THROATED    HUMMINGBIRD. 

Trochilus  colubris  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident ;  common  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
State.  Arrive  the  last  of  April  to  first  of  May;  begin 
laying  the  last  of  May;  the  bulk  leave  in  September;  a 
few  remain  into  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  west  to  the  high 
central  plains;  north  into  the  fur  countries,  and  south  in 
winter  to  Cuba,  and  through  eastern  Mexico  to  Veragua. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  89 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill,  legs,  feet  and  claws  black. 

These  hardy  little  beauties  begin  to  arrive  from  the 
south  as  soon  as  the  cherry  and  apple  trees  are  in  blossom ; 
the  males  several  days  in  advance;  brave,  pugnacious 
little  fellows,  that,  during  the  mating  season,  will  fight 
their  rivals  for  their  lady  loves,  till  death ;  and  in  defense 
of  their  homes  boldly  attack  the  larger  birds,  and  often 
dart  at  and  try  to  frighten  man  away.  They  breed  from 
the  Gulf  coast  north  to  at  least  the  fifty-seventh  parallel. 
The  following  beautiful  description  of  their  flights  and 
manner  of  feeding  is  taken  from  "  Our  Birds  in  their 
Haunts,"  by  Mr.  Langille: 

"There  are  many  birds  the  flight  of  which  is  so  rapid 
that  the  strokes  of  their  wings  cannot  be  counted,  but  here 
is  a  species  with  such  nerve  of  wing  that  its  wing  strokes 
cannot  be  seen.  'A  hazy  semicircle  of  indistinctness  on 
each  side  of  the  bird  is  all  that  is  perceptible.'  Poised  in 
the  air,  his  body  nearly  perpendicular,  he  seems  to  hang 
in  front  of  the  flowers  which  he  probes  so  hurriedly,  one 
after  the  other,  with  his  long,  slender  bill.  That  long, 
tubular,  fork-shaped  tongue  may  be  sucking  up  the  nec- 
tar from  those  rather  small  cylindrical  blossoms,  or  it  may 
be  capturing  tiny  insects  housed  away  there.  Much  more 
like  a  large  sphynx  moth,  hovering  and  humming  over  the 
flowers  in  the  dusky  twilight,  than  like  a  bird,  appears  this 
delicate  fairy-like  beauty.  How  the  bright  green  of  the 
body  gleams  and  glistens  in  the  sunlight ;  while  the  ruby 
colored  throat,  changing  with  the  angle  of  light  as  the  bird 
moves,  is  like  a  bit  of  black  velvet  above  the  white  under 
parts,  or  it  glows  and  shimmers  like  a  flame.  Each  im- 
perceptible stroke  of  those  tiny  wings  conforms  to  the 


90  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

mechanical  laws  of  flight  in  all  their  subtle  complications, 
with  an  ease  and  gracefulness  that  seems  spiritual.  Who 
can  fail  to  note  that  fine  adjustment  of  the  organs  of  flight 
to  aerial  elasticity  and  gravitation,  by  which  that  aston- 
ishing bit  of  nervous  energy  can  rise  and  fall  almost  on 
the  perpendicular,  dart  from  side  to  side,  as  if  by  magic, 
or,  assuming  the  horizontal  position,  pass  out  of  sight  like 
a  shooting  star?  Is  it  not  impossible  to  conceive  of  all 
this  being  done  by  that  rational  calculation  which  enables 
the  rower  to  row,  or  the  sailor  to  sail  his  boat  ? " 

Their  deep,  cup-shaped  nests  are  usually  built  on  small, 
horizontal  limbs  of  trees,  six  to  twelve  feet  from  the 
ground ;  a  delicate,  beautiful  structure,  composed  of  a 
cottony  substance,  and  soft,  silky  fibers  from  plants,  the 
outside  dotted  over  with  lichen.  Eggs  two  (varying  in 
size),  .48x.33;  pure  white;  in  form,  rather  elliptical. 

XXIV.— CHIMNEY  SWIFT. 

Chaetura  pelagica  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State.  Arrive  the  last  of  April;  begin  laying  the  latter 
part  of  May;  return  in  September;  a  few  occasionally 
remain  into  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America ;  north  to  Labra- 
dor, Manitoba,  etc. ;  west  to  the  edge  of  the  plains ;  south 
of  the  United  States  in  winter  to  Cozumel  Island,  Jalapa, 
Mexico,  and  possibly  farther. 

Iris  dark  brown ;  bill  and  claws  black ;  legs  and  feet 
brownish  black.  The  above. are  fresh  measurements  of  a 
pair  of  adult  birds,  shot  in  the  month  of  June.  From  other 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  91 

measurements  as  given,  the  bird  should  average  a  little 
larger. 

These  wild,  restless  birds  are  gregarious  and  social  in 
their  habits.  I  have  often  found  them  in  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory and  early  settlements  of  Kansas,  occupying  large 
hollow  trees — the  sycamore  the  favorite — and  they  occa- 
sionally continue  to  do  so  in  settled  localities,  but  as  a 
rule  prefer  the  habitations  of  man,  and  they  are  most 
abundant  about  our  city  homes,  secreting  themselves  dur- 
ing the 'day  and  night,  chiefly  within  unused  chimneys, 
occasionally  in  other  suitable  dark  retreats,  coming  forth 
at  eve  like  the  bats,  but  a  little  earlier,  retiring  at  dark. 
They  are  occasionally  to  "be  seen  flying  about  during  the 
middle  of  bright,  sunshiny  days,  but  as  a  rule  are  rather 
crepuscular  in  their  habits. 

Their  food  consists  entirely  of  winged  insects,  in  search 
of  which  they  never  seem  to  flag  or  weary,  crossing  and 
recrossing  each  other's  course  in  their  circling,  chattering 
flights,  gliding  along  with  rapid  strokes  of  the  wings  or 
sailing  with  motionless  wings,  as  best  suits  their  purpose. 
On  account  of  their  extremely  long  wings,  they  cannot 
readily  rise  from  a  level  surface,  and  therefore  select,  for  a 
resting  place,  the  perpendicular  sides  or  edges  of  an  eleva- 
tion, where  they  can  at  once  launch  into  the  air.  Tlicir 
peculiarly-formed  feet  and  spine-tipped  tails  enable  them 
to  grasp  and  rest  at  ease  in  such  positions. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  hollow  trees,  chimneys,  etc. ; 
a  peculiar  saucer-shaped  semicircular  structure,  composed 
of  small  sticks  of  uniform  length  and  size,  which  are 
strongly  glued  together  and  fastened  to  the  wall  with  an 
adhesive  saliva  from  the  birds.  Eggs  usually  four, 


92  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

.75x.50;    pure    white;    not    highly    polished;    in    form, 
rather  elliptical  ovate. 

XXV.— NIGHT-HAWK. 

Chordeiles  virginianus  (GMEL.). 

Summer  resident ;  common  in  the  eastern  to  the  middle 
portion  of  the  State ;  rare  in  the  western.  Arrive  the  first 
of  May ;  begin  laying  the  last  of  May ;  return  in  Septem- 
ber; a  few  occasionally  remain  into  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America ;  north  to  Hudson's 
Bay;  west  to  edge  of  Great  Plains;  (to  Pacific  coast 
along  the  northern  border  of  the  United  States;)  south 
in  winter  to  Bahamas,  Cuba,  Jamaica,  (breeds  ?)  middle 
America,  and  portions  of  eastern  South  America. 
(Ridgway.} 

IriSj  bill  and  claws  blackish ;  legs  and  feet  dark  gray- 
ish brown. 

This  is  one  of  our  most  common  birds  of  the  open  lands 
and  prairies.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  a  diurnal  bird,  but 
more  or  less  crepuscular  in  habits,  retiring  to  rest  regularly 
at  the  close  of  twilight.  In  flight  they  are  graceful  and 
pleasing,  gliding  with  ease  through  their  various  evolu- 
tions and  quick  turns,  skimming  with  spread  tail  in  a 
buoyant,  effortless  manner  near  the  ground  or  high  in  air, 
rising  and  dropping  suddenly,  and  at  times  with  a  quick 
upward  turn  that  causes  a  hollow,  whirring  sound,  pro- 
duced, I  think,  by  the  quick  vibrations  of  the  wings  upon 
the  air.  Their  voice  is  an  occasional  squeak  or  a  "  Pe-up  " 
note,  and,  when  wounded  or  in  the  protection  of  their 
young  or  eggs,  often  startle  the  intruder  by  quickly  rais- 
ing their  feathers  and  emitting  through  their  widely- 


BIEDS    OP    KANSAS  93 

opened  mouth  a  sharp,  hissing  sound;  and  during  love 
making  and  caressing  I  have  heard  the  males  utter  low, 
cooing  notes. 

Their  food  consists  of  small  winged  insects  that  abound 
in  the  air,  especially  at  morn,  late  in  the  afternoon  and 
at  eve,  which  accounts  for  their  activity  at  such  times. 

Eggs  two,  1.22x.82 ;  grayish  white,  thickly  mottled  all 
over  with  various  tints  of  lilac  purple  and  yellowish 
brown ;  they  are  laid  upon  the  bare  ground,  in  open  and 
exposed  situations;  in  form,  rounded  elliptical. 

XXVI.— WHIP-POOR-WILL. 

Antrostomus  vociferus  (WiLS.). 

Slimmer  resident;  rare;  quite  common  during  migra- 
tion in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State.  Arrive  the  middle 
of  May ;  begin  laying  the  latter  part  of  May ;  return  in 
September. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States  to  the  Plains;  north 
to  Nova  Scotia,  Manitoba,  etc. ;  south  in  winter  to  Guate- 
mala. 

Iris  bluish  black;  bill  and  claws  black;  legs  and  feet 
grayish  brown. 

This  bird  of  the  night  secretes  itself,  during  the  day, 
in  the  deep,  shady  thickets,  and  were  it  not  for  its  oft- 
repeated  and  familiar  voice,  (heard  during  the  mating 
season,  and  occasionally  late  in  autumn,)  its  presence, 
even  when  quite  common,  would  seldom  be  known,  as  it 
does  not  leave  its  secluded  retreats  until  the  shades  of 
evening  darken,  and  the  silvery  bugle  notes  of  the  Wood 
Thrush  —  one  of  the  latest  of  the  day  songsters  —  are 
hushed.  Wilson  says: 


»4  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

"  This  is  a  singular  and  very  celebrated  species,  univer- 
sally noted,  over  the  greater  part  of  the  United  States, 
for  the  loud  reiterations  of  its  favorite  call  in  spring ;  and 
yet,  personally,  is  but  little  known,  most  people  being 
unable  to  distinguish  this  from  the  preceding  species 
(Nighthawk),  when  both  are  placed  before  them,  and 
some  insist  that  they  are  the  same.  This  being  the  case, 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  historian  to  give  a  full  and 
faithful  delineation  of  his  character,  and  peculiarity  of 
manners,  that  his  existence  as  a  distinct  and  independent 
species  may  no  longer  be  doubted,  nor  his  story  mingled 
confusedly  with  that  of  another.  I  trust  that  those  best 
acquainted  with  him  will  bear  witness  to  the  fidelity  of 
the  portrait. 

"  On  or  about  the  25th  of  April,  if  the  season  be  not  un- 
commonly cold,  the  Whip-poor-will  is  first  heard  in  this 
part  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  evening,  as  the  dusk  of  twi- 
light commences,  or  in  the  morning,  as  soon  as  dawn  has 
broke.  In  the  State  of  Kentucky,  I  first  heard  this  bird 
on  the  14th  of  April,  near  the  town  of  Danville.  The 
notes  of  this  solitary  bird,  from  the  ideas  which  are"  natur- 
ally associated  with  them,  seem  like  the  voice  of  an  old 
friend,  and  are  listened  to  by  almost  all  with  great  interest. 
At  first  they  issue  from'  some  retired  part  of  the  woods,  the 
glen  or  mountain ;  in  a  few  evenings,  perhaps,  we  hear 
them  from  the  adjoining  coppice,  the  garden  fence,  the 
road  before  the  door,  and  even  from  the  roof  of  the  dwell- 
ing house,  long  after  the  family  have  retired  to  rest. 
Some  of  the  more  ignorant  and  superstitious  consider  this 
near  approach  as  foreboding  no  good  to  the  family — 
nothing  less  than  sickness,  misfortune  or  death  to  some 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  95 

of  its  members.  These  visits,  however,  so  often  occur 
without  any  bad  consequences,  that  this  superstitious 
dread  seems  to  be  on  the  decline. 

"  He  is  now  a  regular  acquaintance.  Every  morning 
and  evening  his  shrill  and  rapid  repetitions  are  heard 
from  the-  adjoining  woods;  and  when  two  or  more  are 
calling  out  at  the  same  time,  as  is  often  the  case  in  the 
pairing  season,  and  at  no  great  distance  from  each  other, 
the  noise,  mingling  with  the  echoes  from  the  mountains, 
is  really  surprising.  Strangers  in  parts  of  the  country 
where  these  birds  are  numerous  find  it  almost  impossible 
for  some  time  to  sleep,  while  to  those  long  acquainted  with 
them  the  sound  often  serves  as  a  lullaby  to  assist  their 
repose. 

"  These  notes  seem  pretty  plainly  to  articulate  the 
words  which  have  been  generally  applied  to  them,  Whip- 
poor-will,  the  first  and  last  syllables  being  uttered  with 
great  emphasis,  and  the  whole  is  in  about  a  second  to 
each  repetition;  but,  when  two  or  more  males  meet, 
their  Whip-poor-will  altercations  become  much  more  rapid 
and  incessant,  as  if  each  were  straining  to  overpower  or 
silence  the  other.  When  near,  you  often  hear  an  intro- 
ductory cluck  between  the  notes.  At  these  times,  as  well 
as  at  almost  all  others,  they  fly  low,  not  more  than  a  few 
feet  from  the  surface,  skimming  about  the  house  and  be- 
fore the  door,  alighting  on  the  woodpile  or  settling  on  the 
roof.  Towards  midnight  they  generally  become  silent, 
unless  in  clear  moonlight,  when  they  are  heard  with  little 
intermission  till  morning.  If  there  be  a  creek  near,  with 
high,  precipitous,  bushy  banks,  they  are  sure  to  be  found 
in  such  situations.  During  the  day  they  sit  in  the  most 


96  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

retired,  solitary  and  deep-shaded  parts  of  the  woods, 
generally  on  high  ground,  where  they  repose  in  silence. 
When  disturbed,  they  rise  within  a  few  feet,  sail  low  and 
slowly  through  the  woods,  for  thirty  or  forty  yards,  and 
generally  settle  on  a  low  branch  or  on  the  ground.  Their 
sight  appears  deficient  during  the  day,  as,  like  Owls,  they 
seem  then  to  want  that  vivacity  for  which  they  are  distin- 
guished in  the  morning  and  evening  twilight.  They  are 
rarely  shot  or  molested;  and,  from  being  thus  transiently 
seen  in  the  obscurity  of  dusk  or  in  the  deep  umbrage  of 
the  woods,  no  wonder  their  particular  markings  of  plum- 
age should  be  so  little  known,  or  that  they  should  be  con- 
founded with  the  Nighthawk,  whom  in  general  appear- 
ance they  so  much  resemble." 

The  birds  make  no  nest.  Eggs  two;  laid  in  a  depres- 
sion on  the  ground,  among  the  leaves  in  thickets  and 
heavily-wooded  lands.  A  set  collected  June  5th,  1871, 
at  Pewaukee,  Wisconsin,  in  the  woods,  under  a  thick 
growth  of  bushes,  measure:  1.09x.80,  1.12x.78;  cream 
white,  irregularly  spotted  and  mottled  with  lavender  and 
pale  brown;  in  form,  elliptical. 

XXVII.— DOWNY  WOODPECKER 

Dry  abates  pubescens  (LiNN.). 

Kesident;  common.     Begin  laying  the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Northern  North  America;  south  in  the 
eastern  portion  to  the  Gulf  coast. 

Iris  dark  grown;  bill  slate  blue;  legs,  feet  and  claws 
pale  blue. 

These  restless,  energetic  little  Woodpeckers  are  very 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  97 

similar  in  their  actions  and  habits  to  the  Hairy,  but  more 
social  and  less  fearful  of  man.     Wilson  says: 

"  The  principal  characteristics  of  this  little  bird  are 
diligence,  familiarity,  perseverance,  and  strength  and  en- 
ergy in  the  head  and  muscles  of  the  neck  which  are  truly 
astonishing.  Mounted  on  the  injected  branch  of  an  old 
apple  tree,  where  insects  have  lodged  their  corroding  and 
destructive  brood  in  crevices  between  the  bark  and  wood, 
he  labors  sometimes  for  half  an  hour  incessantly  at  the 
same  spot  before  he  has  succeeded  in  dislodging  and  de- 
stroying them.  At  these  times  you  may  walk  up  pretty 
close  to  the  tree,  and  even  stand  immediately  below  it, 
within  five  or  six  feet  of  the  bird,  without  in  the  least  em- 
barrassing him.  The  strokes  of  his  bill  are  distinctly 
heard  several  hundred  yards  off,  and  I  have  known  him 
to  be  at  work  for  two  hours  together  on  the  same  tree. 
Buff  on  calls  this  '  incessant  toil  and  slavery,'  their  atti- 
tude c  a  painful  posture,'  and  their  life  '  a  dull  and  in- 
sipid existence' — expressions  improper  because  untrue, 
and  absurd  because  contradictory.  The  posture  is  that 
for  which  the  whole  organization  of  his  frame  is  partic- 
ularly adapted,  and  though  to  a  Wren  or  a  Hummingbird 
the  labor  would  be  toil  and  slavery,  yet  to  him  it  is,  I 
am  convinced,  as  pleasant  and  amusing  as  the  sports  of 
the  chase  to  the  hunter,  or  the  sucking  of  flowers  to  the 
Hummingbird.  The  eagerness  with  which  he  traverses 
the  upper  and  lower  sides  of  the  branches,  the  cheerful- 
ness of  his  cry  and  the  liveliness  of  his  motions  while 
digging  in  the  tree  and  dislodging  the  vermin,  justifies 
this  belief.  Tie  has  a  single  note,  or  '  Chink,'  which,  like 
the  former  species,  he  frequently  repeats;  and  when  he 

—7 


98  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

flies  off  or  alights  on  another  tree,  he  utters  a  rathor 
shriller  cry,  composed  of  nearly  the  same  kind  of  a  note, 
quickly  reiterated.  In  the  fall  and  winter  he  associates 
with  the  Titmouse,  Creeper,  etc.,  both  in  their  wood  and 
orchard  excursions,  and  usually  leads  the  van.  Of  all  our 
Woodpeckers,  none  -rid  the  apple  trees  of  so  many  vermin 
as  this,  digging  off  the  moss  which  the  negligence  of  the 
proprietor  has  suffered  to  accumulate,  and  probing  every 
crevice.  In  fact  the  orchard  is  his  favorite  resort  in  all 
seasons,  and  his  industry  is  unequaled  and  almost  inces- 
sant, which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  any  other  species 
we  have.  In  the  fall  he  is  particularly  fond  of  boring  the 
apple  trees  for  insects,  digging  a  circular  hole  through  the 
bark  just  sufficient  to  admit  his  bill ;  after  that  a  second, 
third,  etc.,  in  pretty  regular  horizontal  circles  around  the 
body  of  the  tree.  These  parallel  circles  of  holes  are  often 
not  more  than  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  apart,  and 
sometimes  so  close  together  that  I  have  covered  eight  or 
ten  of  them  at  once  with  a  dollar.  From  nearly  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  up  to  the  first  fork,  and  sometimes  far 
beyond  it,  the  whole  bark  of  many  apple  trees  is  perfo- 
rated in  this  manner,  so  as  to  appear  as  if  made  by  suc- 
cessive discharges  of  buckshot,  and  our  little  Woodpecker, 
the  subject  of  the  present  account,  is  the  principal  perpe- 
trator of  this  supposed  mischief — I  say  supposed ;  for  so 
far  from  these  perforations  of  the  bark  being  ruinous, 
they  are  not  only  harmless,  but,  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe,  really  beneficial  to  the  health  and  fertility  of 
the  tree.  I  leave  it  to  the  philosophical  botanist  to  ac- 
count for  this,  but  the  fact  I  am  confident  of.  In  more 
than  fifty  orchards  which  I,  myself,  have  carefully  ex- 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  99 

amined,  those  trees  which  were  marked  by  the  Woodpecker 
(for  some  trees  they  never  touch,  perhaps  because  not 
penetrated  by  insects)  were  uniformly  the  most  thriving, 
and  seemingly  the  most  productive.  Many  of  these  were 
upwards  of  sixty  years  old,  their  trunks  completely  cov- 
ered with  holes,  while  the  branches  were  broad,  luxuriant, 
and  loaded  with  fruit.  Of  decayed  trees,  more  than  three- 
fourth  were  untouched  by  the  Woodpecker.  Several  in- 
telligent farmers  with  whom  I  have  conversed  candidly 
acknowledged  the  truth  of  these  observations,  and  with 
justice  look  upon  these  birds  as  beneficial;  but  the  most 
common  opinion  is  that  they  bore  the  trees  to  suck  the 
sap,  and  so  destroy  its  vegetation,  though  pine  and  other 
resinous  trees,  on  the  juice  of  which  it  is  not  pretended 
that  they  feed,  are  often  found  equally  perforated.  Were 
the  sap  of  the  tree  their  object,  the  saccharine  juice  of 
the  birch,  the  sugar  maple  and  several  others  would  be 
much  more  inviting,  because  more  sweet  and  nourishing 
than  that  of  either  pear  or  apple  tree;  but  I  have  not 
observed  one  mark  on  the  former  for  ten  thousand  that 
may  be  seen  on  the  latter;  besides,-  the  early  part  of  the 
spring  is  the  season  when  the  sap  flows  most  abundantly, 
whereas  it  is  only  during  the  months  of  September,  Oc- 
tober and  November  that  Woodpeckers  are  seen  so  inde- 
fatigably  engaged  in  orchards,  probing  every  crack  and 
crevice,  boring  through  the  bark,  and,  what  is  worth  re- 
marking, chiefly  on  the  south  .and  southwest  sides  of  the 
tree,  for  the  eggs  and  larvse  deposited  there  by  the  count- 
less swarms  of  summer  insects.  These,  if  suffered  to 
remain,  would  prey  upon  the  very  vitals  (if  I  may  so 
express  it)  of  the  tree,  and  in  the  succeeding  summer 


100  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

give  birth  to  myriads  more  of  their  race,  equally  de- 
structive." 

For  the  above  supposed  reason,  the  birds  so  beneficial, 
and  in  no  sense  injurious,  are  frequently  misnamed 
"  Sapsuckers,"  a  term  not  applicable  to  any  of  our  Wood- 
peckers, except  genus  Sphyrapicus. 

The  nests  are  excavated  in  decaying  limbs,  or  bodies 
of  small  trees,  usually  ten  to  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground 
(the  apple  tree  a  favorite)  ;  the  entrance  round  and  just 
large  enough  to  admit  the  bird,  then  smoothly  chipped 
downward  for  several  inches,  and  enlarged  to  fit  the  body. 
Eggs  four  or  five,  rarely  six,  .Y5x.58;  pure  crystal  white; 
in  form,  rather  subspherical. 

XXVIII.— FLICKER. 

Colaptes  auratus  (LiNN.). 

Resident;  common.     Begin  laying  the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  north  to  Hudson's 
Bay;  west  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains; 
also  reported  from  Alaska,  where  we  would  only  naturally 
look  for  the  Northwestern  Flicker. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill  slate  blue;  legs  and  feet  ashy 
or  light  lead  color;  claws  horn  blue. 

This  well  known,  familiar  bird  is  as  much  at  home  on 
our  prairies  as  within  the  wooded  districts.  Mr.  Langille, 
in  his  interesting  work,  "  Our  Birds  in  their  Haunts," 


"  Next  to  the  Robin,  Bluebird  or  Barn  Swallow,  few 
members  of  the  feathered  tribes  are  better  known  than 
the  '  Flicker,'  '  High-hole,'  '  Yellow-hammer,'  etc.,  for  the 
Goldenwing  is  known  by  all  these  names.  His  several 


BIEDS    OF    KANSAS  101 

notes  are  among  the  most  characteristic  sounds  of  spring, 
at  which  time  he  is  thoroughly  noisy.  Coming  from  the 
south  in  large  numbers,  late  in  March  or  early  in  April, 
ascending  some  tall,  dry  tree  top,  at  early  dawn,  he  an- 
nounces himself,  either  by  a  sonorous  rapping  on  the 
dry  wood,  or  by  a  loud  squealing,  but  jovial  call,  '  Chee- 
ah,  chee-ah,'  which,  once  noted,  is  not  easily  forgotten. 
But  even  this  latter  is  not  half  so  awakening  as  a  certain 
prolonged  strain^  nearly  two  syllables  in  regular  repeti- 
tion, something  like  '  Whric'k-ah,  whric'k-ah,  whric'k-ah, 
whric'k-ah,  whric'k-ah,  whric'k-ah.'  This  vocal  per- 
formance, meant  for  a  song,  no  doubt,  is  a  mere  rollicking 
racket,  toned  down,  indeed,  amidst  the  many  voices  of 
spring,,  and  even  rendered  pleasing  by  its  good-natured 
hilarity.  How  significant  is  that  little  love  note,  '  Yu- 
cah,'  half  guttural,  half  whisper,  which  he  repeats  at 
intervals,  as  he  flits  about  the  solitude  of  the  forest  in 
spring,  or  plays  bo-peep  with  his  lover,  around  the  broken- 
off  top  or  limb  of  some  dead  tree. 

"  His  flight  is  swift,  vigorous  and  dashing ;  is  per- 
formed in  curves  by  a  few  flaps  of  the  wings,  curving 
upward  several  feet,  when  alighting  on  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  but  ending  horizontally  when  alighting  crosswise 
on  a  limb,  after  the  manner  of  perching  birds.  In  manner, 
as  in  structure,  he  is  not  precisely  like  the  rest  of  his  fam- 
ily. At  home  anywhere,  from  the  tallest  tree  top  to  the 
ground,  and  always  in  a  hurry  when  afoot,  he  will  capture 
his  insect  food  after  the  manner  of  Robins  and  Sparrows. 
Ants  of  all  sizes  are  especially  in  favor  with  him." 

Berries,  fruits,  nuts  and  grains  also  help  to  make  up 
tlioir  bill  of  fare.  They  usually  select  for  a  nesting  place 


102  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

an  old  stub  or  decaying  tree,  and  readily  excavate  a  hole 
or  dress  up  a  cavity  in  the  same  to  suit,  and  where  suita- 
ble trees  are  not  convenient  to  their  chosen  homes,  they 
will  chip  through  cornices  and  into  nooks  in  outbuild- 
ings— in  fact,  take  possession  of  most  any  dark,  suitable 
cavity.  Eggs  usually  five  to  seven;  a  much  larger  num- 
ber have  occasionally  been  found,  but  in  such  cases  I  am 
inclined  to  think  other  females  assisted,  although,  when 
robbed  of  the  egg  as  laid,  the  bird  will  often  continue  lay- 
ing to  the  number  of  twenty  and  upward.  They  vary 
much  in  size.  Ridgway  says,  1.10x.85 ;  I  make  the 
average  dimensions  of  a  few  sets  to  be  1.06x.84;  pure 
pearly  white;  in  form,  rather  elliptical  to  oblong  ovate. 
A  set  collected  May  llth,  1878,  at  Pewaukee,  Wisconsin, 
only  measure:  l.OOx.81,  1.03x.80,  1.03x.82,  1.05x.82. 

XXIX.— BELTED    KINGFISHER. 

Ceryle  alcyon  (LiNN.). 

A  common  summer  resident,  and  when  the  winters 
are  mild,  an  occasional  resident.  Begin  laying  about  the 
last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  North  America;  south  to 
Panama,  including  the  West  Indies. 

The  birds  >ary  somewhat  in  size;  specimens  examined, 
however,  show  the  females  fully  as  large  as  the  males. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill  black,  or  rather  slate,  with  sides 
of  upper  to  nostrils,  and  forks  of  under,  pale  blue;  legs 
dull  purple  to  greenish  blue;  feet  dusky,  bottoms  pale, 
with  a  slight  yellowish  hue ;  claws  black. 

This  widely  distributed  and  solitary  species  appears 
to  be  as  much  at  home  in  the  Arctic  regions  as  within  the 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  103 

tropical,  often  remaining  there  until  the  ice  closes  their 
natural  fishing  grounds,  and  hunger  forces  them  to  seek 
for  the  finny  tribe  in  similar  open  waters.  Their  favorite 
resorts  are  along  the  margins  of  ponds,  and  at  the  foot  of 
shallow  rapids,  where  they  patiently  watch  from  an  over- 
hanging limb,  or  perch,  ready  to  dive  for  the  unlucky 
minnow  that  approaches  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  sel- 
dom failing  to  capture.  They  are  equally  successful  on 
the  wing,  hovering  for  a  time  before  plunging;  in  all 
cases  carrying  the  catch  to  the  nearest  resting  place, 
where  they  usually  kill  it  by  beating  it  against  the  perch, 
and  always  swallow  the  same  head-first. 

In  flight  the  motion  of  their  wings  is  very  rapid,  and 
their  course  direct,  and  usually  near  the  surface  of  the 
water.  Their  voice  is  shrill  and  harsh,  much  like  the 
sound  of  a  watchman's  rattle. 

Their  nests  are  placed  at  the  end  of  burrows,  which  the 
birds  tunnel  horizontally  into  the  sides  and  near  the  tops 
of  perpendicular  or  steep  banks  of  streams,  and  occasion- 
ally into  the  sides  of  gravel  banks,  some  distance  from  the 
water ;  are  usually  about  two  feet  in  depth,  but  have  been 
known  to  extend  over  fifteen  feet;  in  fact,  not  stopping 
work  until  a  place  is  reached  where  they  can  safely  rear 
their  young  without  fear  from  falling  earth  or  pebbles. 
At  the  end  it  is  scooped  out  oven-shaped  for  the  nest, 
which  is  sometimes  sparingly  lined  with  grasses  and 
feathers.  Eggs  five  or  six,  1.32x1.05;  pure  white;  in 
form,  oval. 


104  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

XXX.— YELLOW-BILLED    CUCKOO. 

Coccyzus  americanus  (LiNN.). 

A  summer  resident;  common.  Arrive  early  in  May; 
begin  laying  the  last  of  May ;  return  early  in  September ; 
a  few  occasionally  linger  until  the  first  of  October. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  south  from  New 
Brunswick,  Canada,  etc.,  to  the  West  Indies  and  Costa 
Kica;  west  to  eastern  Mexico  and  the  edge  of  the  Great 
Plains.  They  are  known  to  breed  within  their  range  as 
far  south  as  the  West  Indies. 

Iris  brown;  legs  and  feet  bluish  olive;  claws  horn 
blue. 

This  species  is  generally  known  as  the  "  Rain  Crow  " 
or  "  Cowbird  " ;  the  latter  on  account  of  its  call  notes : 
"  Kow,  kow,  kow,  kow,  kow,"  uttered  rapidly ;  the  former 
because  the  birds  are  more  noisy  when  the  atmosphere  is 
moist  and  warm,  and  their  oft-repeated  notes  are  there- 
fore thought  to  be  an  indication  of  falling  weather.  Their 
notes  are  occasionally  heard  at  night.  They  inhabit  alike 
the  deep,  solitary  woods,  the  open  groves  and  prairie 
thickets.  Their  flight  is  noiseless,  smooth  and  swift, 
gliding  with  ease  through  the  thick  trees  and  branches. 
The  birds  feed  upon  nearly  all  forms  of  insect  life ;  even 
the  ugly  caterpillar  is  devoured  with  a  relish.  When  the 
breeding  season  is  over  they  feed  freely  upon  berries. 

The  males  arrive  about  eight  days  in  advance  of  the 
females;  their  courtships  are  of  short  duration,  and  they 
soon  commence  making  preparations  for  housekeeping. 

Their  nests,  a  loose,  frail,  flat  structure  made  of  sticks 
and  weeds,  with  at  times  a  little  grass,  are  placed  in 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  105 

bushes,  grapevines,  and  on  the  lower  branches  of  trees, 
from  five  to  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground.  The  males  as- 
sist in  hatching  and  rearing  the  young,  and  are  fully  as 
attentive  as  the  females.  They  are  said  to  occasionally  lay 
eggs  in  the  nests  of  other  birds,  but  I  think  such  cases 
exceptional,  for  they  are  too  devoted  parents  to  leave — 
unless  by  accident — the  rearing  of  their  young  to  others. 
In  this  respect  they  differ  from  their  cousins  the  European 
Cuckoos,  that  are  polygamous,  and  exhibit  no  paternal 
affection  for  their  young. 

The  birds  occasionally  lay  and  sit  at  the  same  time,  and 
it  is  not  an  unusual  occurrence  to  find  eggs  and  young 
birds  of  different  ages  in  the  same  nest ;  but  as  a  rule  they 
lay,  and  hatch  at  one  sitting,  from  three  to  five  eggs, 
1.25x.90;  light  bluish  green;  in  form,  rather  elliptical. 

XXXI.— BALD   EAGLE. 

Haliaeetus  leucocephalus  (LiNN.). 

Kesident ;  rare ;  not  uncommon  in  winter.  Begin  lay- 
ing  about  the  middle  of  March. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  North  America ;  north  to 
Greenland,  and  west  across  the  Aleutian  chain  to  Com- 
mander Islands,  Kamtchatka. 

•  Iris  grayish  white,  tinged  with  yellow ;  bill  and  cere 
light  yellow;     legs  and  feet  brownish  to  lemon  yellow. 

This  national  bird  is  quite  common  along  the  seacoast 
and  rivers  within  the  United  States,  and  northward.  In 
build  and  habits  it  is  closely  allied  to  the  Buteo  family, 
and  has  none  of  the  daring  dash  of  the  Accipiter  or  Falcon 
tribes,  and  lacks  the  courage  of  the  Golden  Eagle.  If  the 
founders  of  our  nation  had  known  the  habits  of  this  scav- 


106 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


enger  and  piratical  bird,  they  would  never  have  selected  it 
as  a  symbol,  but,  rather,  the  bold,  self-reliant  Golden 
Eagle.  In  the  air,  it  is  indeed  a  graceful  and  magnificent 
bird,  and  with  its  powerful  build  and  proud  appearance, 
they  were  naturally  led  to  look  upon  it  as  the  embodiment 
of  courage  and  perfection.  Respecting  the  habits  of  the 
Bald  Eagle,  Dr.  Brewer  says: 

"  The  Bald  Eagle  appears  to  be  equally  well  adapted 
by  nature  for  the  endurance  of  heat  or  cold,  and  is  appar- 
ently indifferent  to  either.  Its  residence  is  influenced  only 
by  its  abundance  of  food,  especially  that  of  fish ;  and  seems 
to  matter  very  little  whether  that  plenty  is  procurable 
within  the  Arctic  circle,  or  on  the  coast  and  rivers  of  Flor- 
ida and  Texas.  In  places  like  the  falls  of  Niagara,  where 
the  stream  is  ever  liable  to  contribute  the  remains  of  ani- 
mals destroyed  by  the  descent  of  the  torrent,  this  Eagle  is 
especially  abundant.  Unscrupulous,  greedy,  voracious, 
not  select  in  its  choice  of  food,  and  capable  of  providing 
for  itself  when  necessity  compels,  we  find  this  not  alto- 
gether unsuitable  emblem  of  our  country  now  enacting  the 
tyrant  and  robber,  and  plundering  the  Fish  Hawk  of  the 
fruits  of  its  industry,  now  sharing  with  the  Raven  and  the 
Vulture  the  dead  salmon  of  the  Columbia,  and  in  other 
places  diving  for  and  catching  its  own  fish.  The  impetuos- 
ity and  skill  with  which  it  pursues,  overtakes  and  robs  the 
Fish  Hawk,  bearing  off  a  fish  it  has  just  taken,  must  be' 
witnessed  to  be  appreciated ;  and  the  swiftness  with  which 
the  Eagle  can  dart  down  upon  and  seize  the  booty,  which 
the  Hawk  has  been  compelled  to  let  fall,  before  it  reaches 
the  water,  is  not  the  least  wonderful  feature  of  this  strik- 
ing performance.  On  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  where 


BIKDS    OF    KANSAS  107 

there  are  no  Fish  Hawks  to  depend  upon,  this  bird  finds 
an  easy  subsistence  on  the  vast  numbers  of  dead  and  dying 
salmon  which  abound." 

While  these  birds  arc  rather  indolent,  and  prefer  to  be 
robbers  rather  than  self-sustaining,  they  do  not  lack  in 
courage  nor  in  ability  to  capture  their  prey.  I  have,  on 
several  occasions,  seen  them  plunge  for  and  catch  fish  that 
were  swimming  near  the  surface  of  the  water;  they  also 
readily  kill  Ducks,  Geese,  lambs,  little  pigs,  etc.  They  are 
easily  tamed.  One  that  I  had  in  confinement  for  a  long 
time,  became  not  only  familiar,  but  appeared  to  be  greatly 
attached  to  me,  and  would  recognize  me  at  a  long  distance, 
calling  loudly,  and  on  my  near  approach,  with  quivering 
wings,  and  in  various  ways,  expressed  joy,  keeping  up  a 
soft,  whistling  note — that  was  at  times  quite  musical — 
until  I  reached  her.  She  loved  to  be  petted ;  would  rub  her 
head  against  my  face,  and  allow  me  to  lift  her  from  the 
perch ;  a  rather  rough  playmate,  that  often  tore  my  clothes 
in  attempting  to  alight  upon  my  shoulder,  but  not  inten- 
tionally, and  never  appeared  to  be  angry  with  me,  but 
would  not  allow  strangers  to  touch  her. 

Their  nests  are  usually  placed  on  high  trees,  along  the 
banks  of  streams,  but  occasionally,  where  trees  are  not 
convenient,  built  on  high,  rocky  cliffs ;  a  huge  platform 
structure,  made  of  large  sticks,  and  lined  with  twigs, 
grasses,  and  a  few  feathers.  Eggs  usually  two,  sometimes 
as  high  as  four ;  average  measurements,  as  given  by  others, 
about  2.90x2.30;  but  two,  that  I  collected  at  Neah  Bay, 
Washington,  only  measure:  2.50x1.95,  2.60x2.00;  dull 
white,  unmarked;  in  form,  rounded  ovalT 


108  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

XXXII.— GOLDEN  EAGLE. 

Aquila  chrysaetos  (LmN.). 

Resident;  rare.  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  G.  K.  Rumsey 
that  a  pair  nested  for  several  years  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  Comanche  county,  on  a  high  gypsum  ledge;  and,  as  a 
proof  that  he  was  not  mistaken,  he  says  that  the  legs  of  a 
young  bird  captured  were  feathered  to  the  toes.  The  late 
rapid  settlement  of  the  county  has  put  a  stop  to  their 
breeding  there.  Begin  laying  about  the  middle  of  March. 

HABITAT.  Northern  portion  of  northern  hemisphere; 
south  to  Mexico. 

Iris  brown;  bill  and  claws  horn  blue;  core  and  feet 
greenish  yellow. 

The  natural  home  of  this  king  of  birds  is  within  the 
mountain  regions ;  it  is  rarely  met  with  in  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  is  not  abundant  anywhere, 
but  the  most  common  in  the  western  portion  of  its  range. 
In  flight  this  bird  is  not  swift,  but  very  powerful,  sailing 
for  hours  without  an  apparent  effort,  and  often  at  a  great 
height — a  mere  speck  in  the  sky.  It  is  gifted  with  extra- 
ordinary sight,  and  swoops  down  upon  its  prey  with  uner- 
ring certainty.  A  ferocious  monarch ;  a  tiger  among  birds. 
It  preys  upon  Grouse,  Ducks,  Geese,  Swans,  young  fawns, 
lambs,  prairie  dogs,  rabbits,  ground  squirrels,  etc.  Some 
writers  state  that  when  pressed  with  hunger  they  feed  upon 
carrion.  While  I  know  this  to  be  the  case  with  the  Bald 
Eagle,  I  think  this  proud  bird  would  starve  rather  than 
feed  upon  a  putrid  carcass. 

I  kept  one  of  these  birds  (a  female)  over  a  year  in  con- 
finement, feeding  her  chiefly  upon  fresh  beef ;  if  the  least 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  109 

bit  tainted  she  would  not  touch  it,  neither  would  she  eat 
a  fresh  piece  accidentally  dropped  upon  the  ground  from 
her  claws.  A  Bald  Eagle,  in  an  adjoining  pen,  would 
readily  eat  meat  in  any  stage,  and  gladly  take  the  pieces 
rejected  by  the  more  noble  bird.  I  tried  hard  to  subdue 
her,  or  to  be  at  least  on  friendly  terms,  but  failed.  I  know 
that  the  birds  have  been  occasionally  partially  tamed,  but 
this  one  was  untamable,  and  maintained,  during  her  con- 
finement, the  same  wild,  defiant,  ferocious  spirit  exhibited 
at  her  capture.  She  was  especially  furious  when  a  dog 
entered  the  yard.  I  saw  her  pounce  upon,  pick  up  and  take 
to  her  perch  a  large  house  cat  that  ventured  within  her 
prison  for  bits  of  meat.  The  grasp  was  so  powerful  that 
life  was  instantly  crushed  out — not  a  struggle,  but  only  a 
slight  quiver  of  the  muscles  noticeable.  I  have  often  heard 
them  scream  loudly  in  their  mountain  home,  but  my  bird 
was  sullen  and  mute. 

Their  nests  are  enormous  structures  of  sticks,  etc.,  usu- 
ally placed  on  rocky  shelves  of  inaccessible  cliffs,  occa- 
sionally in  trees.  May  5th,  1884,  I  found,  at  Julian, 
California,  a  nest  placed  in  and  near  the  top  of  a  tall  pine 
tree — a  huge  platform  structure  composed  of  sticks  and 
twigs,  and  lined  sparingly  with  grass,  moss,  and  a  few 
feathers.  Eggs  two  or  three,  2.90x2.25 ;  white,  occasion- 
ally unmarked,  but  usually  spotted  and  blotched  with  va- 
rious shades  of  drab  to  reddish  brown,  and  a  few  faint 
purple  shell  markings;  in  form,  broadly  subspherical. 


110  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

XXXIII.— MAESH  HAWK. 

Circus  hudsonius   (LiNN.). 
Eesident;  abundant.     Begin  laying  about  the  first  of 


HABITAT.  The  whole  of  North  America;  south  in 
winter  to  Panama,  Bahamas  and  Cuba. 

Iris  brown ;  bill  horn  blue,  light  at  base ;  cere  greenish 
yellow;  legs  and  feet  yellow;  claws  black. 

This  widely-distributed  species  (a  sort  of  connecting 
link  between  the  Hawks  and  Owls)  has  been  found  breed- 
ing as  far  north  as  Hudson's  Bay  and  Alaska,  and  they  no 
doubt  occasionally  breed  northward  within  their  range. 
I  have  found  them  breeding  in  Lower  California,  but  south 
of  the  United  States  and  northern  Mexico  they  are  not 
common,  and  as  a  rule  only  winter  sojourners.  The  birds 
frequent  the  lowlands  and  marshes,  not  from  choice,  I 
imagine,  but  because  the  food  they  seek  is  the  most  abun- 
dant there ;  for  they  appear  alike  at  home  upon  the  plains, 
in  localities  where  the  lizards  and  small  rodents  abound. 

Its  flight  is  low  and  not  swift,  but  very  light  and  buoy- 
ant, flapping  and  sailing  as  it  courses  over  the  ground, 
often  hovering  with  vibrating  wings  as  it  catches  sight  of 
some  unlucky  rodent,  lizard,  frog  or  bird  in  the  grass  be- 
neath; never  giving  chase,  but  dropping  upon  its  prey, 
and  eating  it  where  caught,  unless  in  a  very  exposed  situa- 
tion, when  it  flies  to  a  more  secluded  place  upon  the  ground. 
The  birds  often  alight  upon  a  fence  post,  but  seldom  in 
trees,  but  I  never  saw  one  attempt  to  feed  upon  its  prey 
from  a  perch.  In  food  habits  they  are  not  particular;  a 
sort  of  scavenger,  that  readily  feeds  upon  the  carcass  of  a 
bird  or  fish — in  fact,  nothing  seems  to  come  amiss. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  111 

These  birds  as  a  whole  are  very  beneficial,  though  occa- 
sionally killing  a  stray  chicken,  but  seldom  venturing 
within  the  dooryard;  and  they  have  not  the  courage  to 
tackle  a  full  grown  fowl — at  least  I  have  never  known 
them  to  do  so,  and  I  have  often  seen  a  hen  drive  them 
away  from  her  chicks. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground,  in  the  grass, 
sometimes  under  low  bushes,  and  usually  on  the  bottom 
prairie  lands ;  a  slight  structure,  made  usually  of  grasses ; 
sometimes,  on  boggy  grounds,  with  a  foundation  of  sticks 
and  weeds.  Eggs  four  to  six,  1.86x1.42;  bluish  white, 
generally  unspotted,  but  occasionally  with  faint  to  dis- 
tinct spots  and  blotches  of  purplish  brown;  in  form, 
broadly  oval. 

XXXIV.— KED-TAILED  HAWK. 

Buteo  borealis  (GMEL.). 

Resident ;  common.    Begin  laying  the  last  of  February. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America;  west  to  the  Great 
Plains. 

Iris  of  adult  brown,  of  young  yellowish ;  bill  horn  blue ; 
cere  greenish  yellow ;  legs  and  feet  light  yellow ;  claws 
bluish  black. 

This  large,  muscular  Hawk  is  rather  evenly  distributed 
throughout  its  range  in  the  United  Sates,  and  northward. 
In  habits  it  is  rather  sluggish,  feeding  chiefly  upon  rabbits, 
mice  and  moles,  which  it  occasionally  swoops  down  upon 
from  the  air,  but  generally  from  a  perch,  where  it  patiently 
watches  for  its  prey.  It  now  and  then  drops  upon  a  Duck, 
Bob-white,  or  stray  fowl  from  the  yard,  but  is  not  quick 
enough  to  catch  the  smaller  birds,  and  never  gives  chase 


112 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 


after  a  bird  on  the  wing.  It  has  not  the  courage  or  dash 
to  venture  within  the  dooryard,  unless  in  a  secluded  place. 
I  know  the  farmer  generally  looks  upon  them  as  an  enemy, 
but  after  a  careful  study  of  their  habits,  and  an  examina- 
tion of  many  of  their  stomachs,  I  have  reached  the  conclu- 
sion that  they  are  far  more  beneficial  than  injurious,  in 
fact,  one  of  his  best  friends.  In  flight  they  are  slow,  but 
steady  and  strong,  with  a  regular  beat  of  the  wings ;  they 
also  delight  to  sail  in  the  air,  where  they  float  lightly,  and 
with  scarcely  an  apparent  motion  of  the  wings,  ofter  cir- 
cling to  a  great  height;  and  during  the  insect  season, 
while  thus  sailing,  often  fill  their  craws  with  grasshoppers, 
that  during  the  after  part  of  the  day  also  enjoy  a  sail  in 
the  air. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  the  forks  of  the  branches  of  the 
tallest  trees  on  the  timbered  bottom  lands ;  a  bulky  struct- 
ure, made  of  sticks,  and  lined  sparingly  with  grass,  leaves 
and  a  few  feathers.  Eggs  two  to  four,  usually  two  or  three, 
2.30x1.84;  bluish  white  thinly  and  irregularly  spotted 
and  blotched  with  various  shades  of  light  to  dark  brown ; 
in  form,  elliptical  to  oval. 

XXXV.— TURKEY  VULTURE. 

Cathartes  aura  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant;  occasionally  seen  in  win- 
ter. Begin  laying  the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Nearly  the  whole  of  temperate  and  tropical 
America,  from  New  England,  Manitoba,  British  Columbia 
and  Washington  southward,  including  the  West  Indies,  to 
Falkland  Islands  and  Patagonia. 

A  young  female,  in  the  "  Goss  Ornithological  Collec- 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  113 

tion,"  reared  in  confinement  and  killed  December  10th, 
measures:  26.25,  66.50,  20.00,  10.50,  2.25,  .90. 

This  Vulture  is  one  of  the  greatest  scavengers  of  nature. 
A  very  abundant  bird,  especially  in  the  warmer  climates, 
where  its  presence  is  of  incalculable  value  as  a  gormandizer 
of  the  garbage,  filth  and  carrion  that  taint  the  air  and  breed 
disease.  Were  it  not  for  their  valuable  services,  it  would 
be  hard  to  tolerate  their  disgusting,  filthy  habits  and  un- 
gainly ways  upon  the  ground  and  perch.  In  the  air,  how- 
ever, as  it  sails  and  circles  high  above  us,  with  scarcely  an 
apparent  effort,  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  it  is  a  magnifi- 
cent sight,  and  to  inwardly  say,  "  Long  live  the  purifiers 
of  the  air."  I  have  raised  the  young  (downy  little  fellows) 
from  the  nest,  feeding  them  wholly  upon  fresh  meat,  and 
find  that  the  rank  odor  of  the  body  is  not  produced  by  the 
food  it  eats,  but  from  natural  causes,  like  the  smell  or 
musk  of  many  animals. 

These  birds  are  mute,  their  only  noise  a  hiss,  like  the 
sound  from  hot  iron  being  dropped  into  water.  Cowardly 
birds,  that  make  no  defense  at  their  capture,  but  will  occa- 
sionally, when  approached,  raise  their  feathers,  stamp  their 
feet  like  sheep,  and  hiss. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  rocky  ledges  and  in  hollow 
trees  and  stumps.  Eggs  two,  laid  on  the  bare  rocks  or 
debris;  no  lining;  2.70x1.90;  grayish  white,  variously 
and  unevenly  blotched  and  splashed  with  light  to  dark 
reddish  brown  and  purplish  drab;  in  form,  rounded  oval. 


TWENTIETH  CENTUHY  CLASSICS 

XXXVI.— SCREECH   OWL, 
Megascops  asio  (LiNN.). 

Resident;  abundant.     Begin  laying  early  in  March. 

HABITAT.  Temperate  eastern  North  America ;  south  to 
Georgia  and  west  to  the  Great  Plains. 

Iris  yellow;  bill,  cere  and  claws  light  greenish  horn 
color. 

This  is  one  of  our  most  abundant  and  well-known  night 
Owls.  It  inhabits  alike  the  woods  and  the  habitations  of 
man.  Its  food  consists  of  mice,  small  birds,  insects,  etc. ; 
in  searching  for  the  same,  it  flies  noiselessly  but  actively 
about,  occasionally  capturing  its  prey  upon  the  wing,  but 
usually  pouncing  upon  it.  These  birds  are  rather  easily 
tamed. 

When  a  small  boy,  in  my  old  New  England  homo,  I 
reared  one  from  the  nest,  that  was  quite  attractive,  and,  as 
I  was  the  only  one  that  fed  or  cared  for  it,  it  became 
strongly  attached  to  me,  and,  no  matter  how  roughly 
handled,  never  showed  the  least  bit  of  anger;  but,  upon 
the  approach  of  a  stranger,  it  would  erect  its  feathers  and 
sharply  snap  its  bill.  At  the  sight  of  the  house  cat  it  was 
wild  with  fear  and  rage,  and  could  not  be  pacified  until 
Thomas  was  removed.  I  gave  it  the  liberty  of  the  dark 
garret  beneath  the  roof  of  our  house,  and  in  the  center  of 
the  room  placed  corn,  bread  and  toasted  cheese  to  attract 
the  mice,  and,  from  the  ejected  pellets  of  mouse  hair,  I 
know  that  it  captured  many  mice.  At  night  or  in  a  dark 
place,  it  would  come  to  me  at  call,  and  alight  on  my  arm  or 
hand,  take  and  readily  eat  insects  and  small  bits  of  food, 
but,  if  the  piece  was  large,  would  fly  with  it  to  its  perch 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  115 

before  attempting  to  eat  it.  In  daytime  it  seldom  came  at 
call,  but  would  always  answer  with  a  low,  guttural,  rattling 
note.  Boy-like,  it  was  one  of  my  chief  delights  at  eve  to 
drop  a  mouse  from  a  trap  into  a  box.  At  sight  of  the  mouse 
it  would  raise  its  feathers,  quiver  with  excitement  and 
eagerly  pounce  upon  it,  bite  it  through  the  back  until 
limp  or  dead,  then,  with  a  chuckling  note  of  satisfaction, 
carry  it  to  its  perch.  The  birds  make  quite  a  variety  of 
low  sounds,  but  the  only  one  heard  at  a  distance  is  its 
screeching,  tremulous,  wailing  call  note  or  song,  so  often 
heard  at  eve  and  during  the  night,  especially  when  the 
moon  is  shining. 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  holes  in  trees,  occasionally  in 
nooks  in  buildings.  They  are  sparingly  lined  with  grasses, 
leaves  and  feathers.  Eggs  four  to  six,  1.40x1.22;  pure 
white;  in  form,  subspherical. 

XXXVIL— GREAT  HORNED  OWL. 

Bubo  virginianus  (GMEL.). 

Resident ;  common.    Begin  laying  the  last  of  February. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America ;  west  to  the  edge  of 
the  Great  Plains;  south  through  eastern  Mexico,  to  Costa 
Rica. 

Iris  yellow;  bill,  cere  and  claws  black. 

This  bird  inhabits  not  only  the  wooded  lands,  but  our 
broad  prairies,  resting  during  the  day  in  thickets,  hollow 
trees,  clefts  in  rocks,  or  most  any  secluded  spot.  I  have 
occasionally  started  them  from  a  hummock,  in  a  rank 
growth  of  tall  grass.  They  are  not  strictly  a  night  bird, 
as  I  have  often  seen  them  during  the  day,  while  rearing 
their  young,  in  search  of  food;  but,  unless  pressed  by 


116  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

hunger,  seldom  venture  out  until  the  little  day  birds,  that 
annoy  them  greatly,  have  retired  to  their  roosts.  At  twi- 
light and  on  moonlight  nights  they  are  the  most  active,  fly- 
ing noiselessly  and  with  ease  through  the  timber  and  over 
the  open  ground  in  search  of  rabbits,  mice,  and  other  small 
quadrupeds  that  feed  and  run  about  at  night,  doing  great 
damage  to  the  farmer  in  his  fields.  It  is,  therefore,  one  of 
our  most  beneficial  birds,  and  not  injurious,  except  to  the 
owners  of  fowls  that  are  either  too  lazy,  or  not  thoughtful 
enough,  to  house  them  at  night. 

In  olden  times  the  Owls,  on  account  of  their  rounded 
heads,  large  bright  eyes,  and  stately  mien,  were  selected 
by  the  philosophers  as  emblems  of  wisdom;  but  their 
gloomy  habits  and  night  wanderings  impressed  the  super- 
stitious with  the  thought  that  they  were  the  embodiment 
of  evil  spirits,  and  their  hoots  that  broke  the  stillness  of 
night  struck  terror  to  their  hearts,  as  well  as  to  the  awak- 
ened birds  upon  the  perch,  and  their  voice  was  supposed 
to  bode  no  good,  and  their  silent  visits  the  forerunner  of 
death.  But  of  late  years,  as  we  come  to  know  their  ways 
and  habits  better,  we  more  properly  associate  them  with 
the  feline  race — emblems  of  desolation ;  and  this  powerful 
bird  may  well  be  called  the  tiger  among  birds.  Its  loud, 
guttural,  "  Whaugh,  ho,  hoo,  hoo,"  is  not  only  a  note  of 
love,  but  one  of  defiance.  The  birds  are,  however,  very 
attentive  parents,  both  assisting  in  hatching  and  rearing 
their  young.  The  female  (as  is  the  case  with  nearly  all 
birds  of  prey)  is  the  larger  bird,  in  order  to  protect  the 
family  in  case  of  a  quarrel  with  her  mate,  and  from  his 
too  aggressive  advances. 

It  nests  in  natural  cavities  of  trees,  deserted  nests  of 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  117 

Hawks,  and,  on  the  plains  or  prairies,  in  fissures  of  rocks ; 
nest  scantily  lined  with  leaves  and  grasses.  Eggs  two  to 
four,  2.25x1.90;  white;  in  form,  subspherical. 

XXXVIII.— BURROWING    OWL. 

Speotyto  cunicularia  liypogaea  (BoNAP.). 

Resident ;  abundant  in  the  middle  and  western  part  of 
the  State.  Begin  laying  about  the  middle  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Western  North  America ;  north  to  or  a  little 
beyond  the  northern  boundary  of  the  United  States ;  south 
to  Guatemala ;  east  to  middle  Texas  and  Nebraska ;  occa- 
sionally straggle  eastward.  A  specimen  captured  in  New 
York  city,  and  one  in  Massachusetts,  I  think  cage  birds 
rather  than  stragglers,  as  reported.  (The  birds  in  Florida 
are  variety  floridana.} 

Iris  yellow ;  bill  light  greenish  yellow ;  cere  and  claws 
blackish;  feet  dull  brown.  From  the  measurements  I 
have  taken  of  many,  I  do  not  think  the  sexes  differ  in 
size.  In  all  other  birds  of  prey  the  female  is  decidedly 
the  larger  bird. 

Dr.  Coues,  in  his  "  Birds  of  the  Northwest,"  gives  the 
following  full  and  interesting  description  of  its  habits: 

"  The  Burrowing  Owl  is  the  only  bird  of  its  family  in- 
habiting in  any  numbers  the  entirely  treeless  regions  of 
the  West,  and  may  be  considered  characteristic  of  the 
plains.  Wherever  it  can  find  shelter  in  the  holes  of  such 
animals  as  wolves,  foxes  and  badgers,  and  especially  of  the 
various  species  of  marmot  squirrels,  there  it  is  found  in 
abundance;  and  in  not  a  few  instances  small  colonies  are 
observed  living  apart  from  their  ordinary  associates,  in 
holes  apparently  dug  by  themselves.  They  constitute  a 


118  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

notable  exception  to  the  general  rule  of  arboricole  habits 
in  this  family,  being  especially  fitted  by  their  conformation 
for  the  subterranean  mode  of  life  for  which  they  are  de- 
signed, and  are  furthermore  exceptional  in  their  gregarious 
disposition,  here  carried  to  the  extreme.  The  diffusion  of 
the  species  in  the  West  is  so  general  that  there  is  little 
occasion  to  mention  particular  localities. 

"  The  Owls  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  dog  towns, 
nor  even  to  the  similar  communities  of  other  gregarious 
spermophiles.  They  sometimes  occupy  the  underground 
dens  of  wolves,  foxes  and  badgers.  In  South  America, 
the  representative  race  lives  among  the  bizcachas  (Lagos- 
tomus  tzichodactylus)  that  inhabit  the  Pampas.  On  some 
occasions  the  birds  have  been  found  alone,  residing  appar- 
ently in  burrows  excavated  by  themselves,  as  already 
stated.  They  are  by  no  means  nocturnal ;  able  to  endure 
the  sunlight  without  inconvenience,  they  may  be  observed 
abroad  at  all  hours.  It  has  been  stated  that  in  autumn, 
at  the  approach  of  cold  weather,  they  retire  into  their  bur- 
rows to  hibernate — a  fable  matching  the  one  that  ascribes 
to  Swallows  the  habit  of  diving  into  the  mud  to  pass  the 
winter  in  repose  along  with  torpid  frogs.  In  most  locali- 
ties the  birds  are  abroad  the  year  round;  their  disappear- 
ance in  inclement  regions  is  accomplished,  if  at  all,  by 
ordinary  migration.  In  California  I  saw  them,  bright  and 
lively  as  crickets,  in  November. 

"  I  never  undertook  to  unearth  the  nest  of  a  Burrowing 
Owl,  but  others  have  been  more  zealous  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  under  difficulties.  Dr.  Cooper  says  that  he  once 
dug  two  fresh  eggs  out  of  a  burrow,  which  he  followed  down 
for  three  feet,  and  then  traced  for  five  feet  horizontally, 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  119 

at  the  cud  of  which  lie  found  an  enlarged  chamber,  where 
the  eggs  were  deposited  on  a  few  feathers.  In  his  inter- 
esting note  in  the  American  Naturalist,  Dr.  C.  S.  Canfield 
gives  a  more  explicit  account  of  the  nesting :  '  I  once  took 
pains  to  dig  out  a  nest  of  the  Athene  cunicularia.  I  found 
that  the  burrow  was  about  four  feet  long,  and  the  nest 
was  only  about  two  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
The  nest  was  made  in  a  cavity  of  the  ground  of  about  a 
foot  in  diameter,  well  filled  with  dry,  soft  horse  dung,  bits 
of  old  blanket,  and  fur  of  a  coyote  (Canis  latrans)  that  I' 
had  killed  a  few  days  before.  One  of  the  parent  birds  was 
on  the  nest,  and  I  captured  it.  It  had  no  intention  of 
leaving  the  nest,  even  when  entirely  uncovered  with  the 
shovel  and  exposed  to  the  open  air.  It  fought  bravely 
with  beak  and  claws.  I  found  seven  young  ones,  perhaps 
eight  or  ten  days  old,  well  covered  with  down,  but  without 
any  feathers.  The  whole  nest,  as  well  as  the  birds  (old 
and  young),  swarmed  with  fleas.  It  was  the  filthiest  nest 
T  ever  saw.  In  the  passage  leading  to  it  there  were  small 
scraps  of  dead  animals,  such  as  pieces  of  the  skin  of  the 
antelope,  half  dried  and  half  putrified,  the  skin  of  the 
coyote,  etc. ;  and  near  the  nest  were  the  remains  of  a  snake 
that  I  had  killed  two  days  before,  a  large  Coluber,  two  feet 
long.  The  birds  had. begun  at  the  snake's  head  and  had 
picked  off  the  flesh  clean  from  the  vertebra  and  ribs  for 
about  one-half  its  length ;  the  other  half  of  the  snake  was 
entire.  The  material  on  which  the  young  birds  rested  was 
at  least  three  inches  deep.  There  are  very  few  birds  that 
carry  more  rubbish  into  their  nests  than  the  Athene;  and 
even  the  Vultures  are  not  much  more  filthy.  I  am  satisfied 
that  the  A.  cunicularia  lays  a  larger  number  of  eggs  than 


120  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

is  attributed  to  it  in  Dr.  Brewer's  book  (four).  I  have 
frequently  seen,  late  in  the  season,  six,  seven  or  eight 
young  birds  standing  around  the  mouth  of  a  burrow,  iso- 
lated from  others  in  such  a  manner  that  I  could  not  suppose 
that  they  belonged  to  two  or  more  families.' 

"  The  notes  of  the  Burrowing  Owl  are  peculiar.  The 
birds  do  not  '  hoot,'  nor  is  there  anything  lugubrious  or 
foreboding  in  their  cry.  Sometimes  they  chuckle,  chatter 
and  squeal  in  an  odd  way,  as  if  they  had  caught  a  habit  of 
barking  from  the  *  dogs '  they  live  with,  and  were  trying 
to  imitate  the  sound ;  but  their  nocturnal  cry  is  curiously 
similar  to  that  of  the  Rain  Crow  or  Cuckoo  of  America — 
so  much  so,  that  more  than  one  observer  has  been  deceived. 
They  scream  hoarsely  when  wounded  and  caught,  though 
this  is  but  seldom,  since,  if  any  life  remains,  they  scramble 
quickly  into  a  hole,  and  are  not  easy  to  recover.  The  flight 
is  perfectly  noiseless,  like  that  of  other  Owls,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  downy  iexture  of  the  plumage.  By  day  they  sel- 
dom fly  far  from  the  entrance  of  their  burrow,  and  rarely, 
if  ever,  mount  in  the  air.  I  never  saw  one  on  the  wing 
more  than  a  few  moments  at  a  time,  just  long  enough  for 
it  to  pass  from  one  hillock  to  another,  as  it  does  by  skim- 
ming low  over  the  surface  of  the  ground,  in  a  rapid,  easy, 
and  rather  graceful  manner.  They  live  chiefly  upon  in- 
sects, especially  grasshoppers ;  they  also  feed  upon  lizards, 
as  I  once  determined  by  dissection,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  young  prairie  dogs  furnish  them  many  a  meal.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances,  they  are  not  very  shy  or  difficult 
to  procure;  I  once  secured  several  specimens  in  a  few 
minutes,  and,  I  fear,  left  some  others  to  languish  and  die 
in  their  holes.  As  commonly  observed,  perched  on  one  of 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  *  121 

the  innumerable  little  eminences  that  mark  a  dog  town, 
amid  their  curious  surroundings,  they  present  a  spectacle 
not  easily  forgotten.  Their  figure  is  peculiar ;  with  their 
long  legs  and  short  tail,  the  element  of  the  grotesque  is 
never  wanting.  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  they  look  most 
ludicrous  as  they  stand  stiffly  erect  and  motionless,  or  when 
they  suddenly  turn  tail  to  duck  into  the  hole,  or  when  en- 
gaged in  their  various  antics.  Bolt  upright,  on  what  may 
be  imagined  their  rostrum,  they  gaze  about  with  a  bland 
and  self-satisfied  but  earnest  air,  as  if  about  to  address 
an  audience  upon  a  subject  of  great  pith  and  moment. 
They  suddenly  bow  low,  with  profound  gravity,  and,  rising 
abruptly,  they  begin  to  twitch  their  faces  and  roll  their 
eyes  about  in  the  most  mysterious  manner,  gesticulating 
wildly,  every  now  and  then  bending  forward  till  the  breast 
almost  touches  the  ground,  to  propound  the  argument  with 
more  telling  effect;  then  they  face  about  to  address  the 
rear,  that  all  may  alike  feel  the  force  of  their  logic;  they 
draw  themselves  up  to  the  fullest  height,  outwardly  calm 
and  self-contained,  pausing  in  the  discourse  to  note  its 
effect  upon  the  audience  and  collect  their  wits  for  the  next 
rhetorical  flourish.  And  no  distant  likeness  between  these 
frothy  orators  and  others  is  found  in  the  celerity  with 
which  they  subside  and  seek  their  holes  on  the  slightest 
intimation  of  danger." 

Eggs  usually  four  to  seven  (as  high  as  eleven  have  been 
taken),  1.22x1.04;  pure  white;  in  form,  subspherical. 


122   •  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

XXXIX.— MOURNING  DOVE. 

Zenaidura  macroura  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant;  an  occasional  winter  so- 
journer  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Begin  laying 
the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  temperate  North  America, 
north  to  the  British  possessions,  south  to  the  West  Indies 
and  Panama. 

Iris  dark  brown;  bill  black;  legs  and  feet  lake  red; 
claws  horn  blue. 

This  familiar  bird  is  extensively  distributed  through- 
out the  United  States,  from  southern  New  England  and 
Washington  southward;  breeding  throughout  its  range. 
It  adapts  itself  readily  to  its  surroundings,  and  is  as  much 
at  home  on  the  dry  plains  as  in  the  clearings  of  the  moist 
woodlands.  Its  plumage  does  not  appear  to  be  affected  by 
the  climate.  I  have  specimens  in  the  "  Goss  Ornithologi- 
cal Collection  "  shot  at  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  San  Pedro, 
Martir  Isle,  Gulf  of  California,  and  in  Kansas,  and  have 
shot  the  birds  in  New  England,  and  in  southern  Central 
America,  and  so  far  fail  to  find  any  difference  in  colora- 
tion that  will  hold  good. 

Its  food  consists  of  insects,  berries  and  grains,  the  latter 
gleaned  chiefly  from  the  fields.  It  is  a  harmless  bird,  that 
by  its  innocent  ways  readily  wins  the  heart  and  protection 
of  man.  Its  flight  is  vigorous  and  strong,  and  the  rapid 
strokes  of  its  wings  cause  a  whistling  sound.  During  the 
pairing  season  the  male  often  circles  and  sails  above  his 
mate,  with  tail  expanded,  and  upon  the  ground  struts  about 
with  nodding  head,  and  feathers  spread  in  a  graceful 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  123 

manner.  His  mournful  cooing  love  note,  so  pleasing  to  the 
female,  wafts  to  my  ears  one  of  the  saddest  sounds  in  na- 
ture. The  birds  while  mated  are  true  and  devoted  to  each 
other.  At  the  close  of  the  breeding  season  they  collect  to- 
gether in  small  flocks,  usually  family  groups. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  forks  of  low,  horizontal 
branches  of  trees,  on  grape  vines,  and  upon  the  ground; 
when  built  off  the  ground,  a  loose  slight  platform,  con- 
structed of  twigs,  a  few  stems  of  grass,  and  leaves.  Eggs 
two,  1.12x.85;  white;  in  form,  elliptical  to  oval. 

XL.— PASSENGER  PIGEON. 

Ectopistes  migratorius  (LiNN.). 

Irregular  summer  resident;  rare;  a  few  to  my  knowl- 
edge breed  occasionally  in  the  Neosho  valley.  Arrive  early 
in  March;  begin  laying  by  the  middle  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  North  America,  from  Hudson's 
Bay  southward,  and  west  to  the  Great  Plains;  casually 
westward  to  Nevada  and  Washington ;  Cuba. 

Iris  red;  bill  and  claws  black;  legs  and  feet  lake  red. 

This  species — commonly  called  the  Wild  Pigeon — so, 
abundant  formerly,  is  fast  disappearing,  though  still  to 
be  found  in  numbers  within  the  Indian  Territory  and 
portions  of  the  southern  States.  They  are  irregular  wan- 
derers, the  gypsies  among  birds ;  their  natural  home,  how- 
ever, is  within  the  wooded  lands,  and  they  are  therefore 
seldom  met  with  upon  the  broad  prairies. 

The  following  interesting  description  of  these  birds  is 
from  "  North  American  Land  Birds,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  370 : 

"  The  Wild  Pigeon  appears  to  be  almost  entirely  in- 
fluenced in  its  migrations  by  the  abundance  of  its  food, 


124  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

excepting  in  those  parts  of  the  country  in  which  it  has  not 
been  known  to  remain  during  the  winter.  Even  in  these 
movements  it  is  largely  influenced  by  instinctive  consid- 
erations of  food.  Evidently  the  temperature  has  but  little 
to  do  with  their  migrations,  as  they  not  unfrequently  move 
northward  in  large  columns  as  early  as  the  7th  of  March, 
with  a  thermometer  twenty  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point.  In  the  spring  of  1872  a  large  accumulation  of  these 
birds  took  place  early  in  March,  in  the  eastern  portion  of 
New  York.  They  were  present  in  the  forests  about  Al- 
bany, and  were  taken  in  such  immense  numbers  that  the 
markets  of  New  York  and  Boston  were  largely  supplied 
with  them. 

"As  early  as  the  10th  of  March  they  were  ascertained 
to  have  in  their  ovaries  full  grown  eggs  ready  for  exclu- 
sion. In  Kentucky  they  have  been  known,  according  to 
Audubou,  to  remain  summer  and  winter  in  the  same  dis- 
trict for  several  successive  years,  in  consequence  of  great 
abundance  of  food,  while  in  other  parts  of  the  State  none 
were  to  be  met  with.  They  suddenly  disappeared  as  soon 
as  the  beechmast  had  become  exhausted,  and  did  not  re- 
turn for  a  long  period. 

"  The  Wild  Pigeons  are  capable  of  propelling  themselves 
in  long-continued  flights,  and  are  known  to  move  with  an 
almost  incredible  rapidity,  passing  over  a  g  ea:  <  xr  n 
country  in  a  very  short  time.  It  is  quite  a  common  and 
well-ascertained  fact  that  Pigeons  are  captured  in  the  State 
of  New  York  with  their  crops  still  filled  with  the  undi- 
gested grains  of  rice  that  must  have  been  taken  in  the 
distant  fields  of  Georgia  or  South  Carolina,  apparently 
proving  that  they  much  have  passed  over  the  intervening 


BIRDS    OP    KANSAS  125 

space  within  a  very  few  hours.  Audubon  estimates  the 
rapidity  of  their  flight  as  at  least  a  mile  a  minute. 

"  The  Wild  Pigeons  are  said  to  move,  in  their  flight, 
by  quickly-repeated  flaps  of  the  wings,  which  are  brought 
more  or  less  near  to  the  body,  according  to  the  degree  of 
velocity  required.  During  the  love  season  they  often  fly 
in  a  circling  manner,  supporting  themselves  with  both 
wings  angularly  elevated.  Before  alighting  they  break 
the  force  of  their  flight  by  repeated  flappings. 

"  Their  great  powers  of  flight,  and  the  ability  thus -given 
to  change  at  will  their  residence,  and  their  means  of  renew- 
ing a  supply  of  food,  are  also  thought  to  be  seconded  by  a 
remarkable  power  of  vision,  enabling  them  to  discover  their 
food  with  great  readiness.  Mr.  Audubon  states  that  he  has 
observed  flocks  of  these  birds,  in  passing  over  a  sterile  part 
of  the  country,  fly  high  in  the  air,  with  an  extended  front, 
enabling  them  to  survey  hundreds  of  acres  at  once.  When 
the  land  is  richly  covered  with  food,  or  the  trees  well  sup- 
plied with  mast,  they  fly  low  in  order  to  discover  the  part 
most  plentifully  supplied. 

"  In  its  movements  on  the  ground,  as  also  when  alighted 
on  the  branches  of  trees,  the  Wild  Pigeon  is  remarkable  for 
its  ease  and  grace.  It  walks  on  the  ground  and  also  on 
the  limbs  of  trees  with  an  easy,  graceful  motion,  frequently 
jerking  its  tail  and  moving  its  neck  backward  and  forward. 

"  Mr.  Audubon  states  that  in  Kentucky  he  has  re- 
peatedly visited  one  of  the  remarkable  roosting-places  to 
which  these  birds  resort  at  night.  This  one  was  on  the 
banks  of  Green  River,  and  to  this  place  the  birds  came 
every  night  at  sunset,  arriving  from  all  directions,  some  of 
them  from  the  distance  of  several  hundred  miles,  as  was 


126 


TWENTIETH  CENTEJEY  CLASSICS 


conjectured  from  certain  observations.  The  roost  was  in 
a  portion  of  the  forest  where  the  trees  were  of  great  mag- 
nitude. It  was  more  than  forty  miles  in  length,  and  av- 
eraged three  in  breadth.  It  had  been  occupied  as  a  roost 
about  a  fortnight  when  he  visited  it.  The  dung  was  several 
inches  deep  on  the  ground.  Many  trees  had  been  broken 
down  by  their  weight,  as  well  as  many  branches  of  the 
largest  and  tallest  trees.  The  forest  seemed  as  if  it  had 
been  swept  by  a  tornado.  Everything  gave  evidence  that 
the  number  of  birds  resorting  to  that  part  of  the  forest 
must  be  immense.  A  large  number  of  persons  collected 
before  sunset  to  destroy  them,  provided  with  torches  of 
pine  knots,  and  armed  with  long  poles  and  guns.  The 
Pigeons  began  to  collect  after  sunset,  their  approach  pre- 
ceded, even  when  they  were  at  a  distance,  by  a  noise  like 
that  of  a  hard  gale  at  sea  sounding  in  the  rigging  of  a 
vessel.  As  the  birds  passed  over  him,  they  created  a 
strong  current  of  air.  The  birds  arrived  by  thousands, 
fires  were  alighted,  and  the  work  of  destruction  com- 
menced. Many  were  knocked  down  by  the  pole  men.  In 
many  cases  they  collected  in  such  solid  masses  on  tho 
branches  that  several  of  their  perches  gave  way  and  fell 
to  the  ground,  in  this  way  destroying  hundreds  of  the 
birds  beneath  them.  It  was  a  scene  of  great  confusion 
and  continued  until  past  midnight,  the  Pigeons  still  con- 
tinuing to  arrive.  The  sound  made  by  the  birds  at  the 
roost  could  be  heard  at  the  distance  of  three  miles.  As 
day  approached,  the  noise  in  some  measure  subsided ;  and 
long  before  objects  were  distinguishable  the  Pigeons  began 
to  move  off,  and  before  daylight  all  that  were  able  to  fly 
had  disappeared.  The  dead  and  wounded  birds  were  then 


BIRDS  OF  KANSAS  127 

collected  and  piled  into  heaps  by  those  who  had  assembled 
for  the  purpose. 

"  Though  for  the  most  part  living,  moving  and  feeding 
together  in  large  companies,  the  Wild  Pigeon  mates  in 
pairs  for  purposes  of  breeding.  They  have  several 
broods  in  the  season,  and  commence  nesting  very  early  in 
the  spring,  the  time  being  considerably  affected  by  the 
amount  of  food." 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  trees,  and  in  communities ;  a 
slight  platform  structure  of  twigs,  without  any  material 
for  lining  whatever.  Eggs  two,  1.45x1.05;  white;  in 
form,  varying  from  elliptical  to  oval. 

XLL— BOB-WHITE. 

Colinus  virginianiis  (LiNN.). 

Eesident;  abundant  from  the  eastern  to  the  middle 
portion  of  the  State,  moving  westward  and  increasing 
with  its  settlement.  Begin  laying  the  last  of  April. 

HABITAT.  Eastern  United  States;  north  into  Lower 
Canada;  south  to  the  Gulf  States;  west  to  Dakota,  Kan- 
sas, Indian  Territory  and  eastern  Texas. 

Iris  brown ;  bill  dark  brown,  usually  pale  brown  at  base 
of  under  mandible;  legs  and  feet  pale  bluish  to  brownish 
gray;  claws  black. 

This  familiar  species  is  generally  known  in  the  New 
England  and  Middle  States  as  the  Quail,  and  in  the  South- 
ern States  as  the  Partridge.  These  names  belong  to  othor 
and  quite  different — though  closely  allied — birds.  At 
the  suggestion  of  Prof.  Baird,  "  Bob-white,"  its  cheerful 
call  note,  has  become  its  accepted  and  present  name.  The 
birds  appear  to  thrive  best  in  the  presence  of  man,  and, 


128  TWENTIETH    CENTTJTCY    CLASSICS 

were  they  protected  and  fed  during  our  cold  winters,  would 
soon  become  quite  tame.  They  often  nest  near  our  dwell- 
ings. In  the  spring  of  1867,  I  was  shown,  on  Owl  Creek, 
Woodson  county,  Kansas,  a  nest  containing  nineteen  eggs. 
It  was  placed  in  the  dooryard,  and  not  over  twenty-five 
yards  from  the  house;  several  dogs  were  running  about 
the  yard,  and  the  house  cat  was  purring  in  the  door- 
way. Fearing  the  eggs  would  be  destroyed,  I  suggested 
the  building  of  a  high  tight  fence  around  the  nest, 
"  Oh!  "  said  the  farmer,  "  that  is  not  necessary;  our  cats 
and  dogs  will  not  harm  them,  for  they  know  them  well, 
as  they  have  for  a  long  time  run  about  with  the  chickens, 
and  feed  with  them  from  food  thrown  from  the  door  step." 
I  am  confident  if  man  was  as  friendly  to  the  birds  as  they 
are  to  man,  that  they  would  soon  become  thoroughly  do- 
mesticated. Trapped  and  hunted  as  they  are,  with  dog  and 
gun,  it  is  not  strange  that,  as  a  whole,  they  remain  timid 
and  mistrustful,  and,  were  they  not  naturally  birds  of 
civilization,  would  rapidly  disappear  with  the  settlement 
of  a  country.  As  it  is  they  seem  to  realize  that  man  is 
only  at  times  their  enemy,  and  that  his  cultivated  fields 
afford  them  a  safe  resort  from  their  many  other  enemies, 
and  insure  a  more  certain  and  bountiful  supply  of  food 
than  found  elsewhere. 

In  the  destruction  of  injurious  insects,  and  the  seeds  of 
weeds,  upon  which  they  largely  feed,  they  more  than 
doubly  repay  for  the  few  grains  eaten  prior  to  the  harvest. 

Their  flesh  is  highly  esteemed,  and  to  the  wing  shot  a 
most  attractive  game  bird.  When  startled,  rise  with  a 
loud  whirring  sound ;  in  flight  very  swift,  low,  and  direct ; 
a  rather  laborious  effort,  dropping  back  into  the  first  in- 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  129 

viting  cover.  They  do  not,  like  our  Prairie  Hens,  collect 
in  large  flocks,  but  move  about  in  small  coveys  or  family 
groups ;  pairing  during  the  breeding  season,  and,  although 
not  strictly  true  to  each  other  in  their  marriage  relations, 
are  very  attentive  and  share  alike  in  the  duties  of  pro- 
tecting and  rearing  the  young. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground,  in  a  depression, 
usually  in  the  grass  upon  the  prairies,  sometimes  in  a 
thicket,  under  a  low  bush;  composed  of  grasses,  and 
usually  arched  over,  with  entrance  on  the  sides.  Eggs 
fifteen  to  twenty,  1.20x.97;  pure  white;  in  shape,  pyri- 
f orm.  !N"ests  found  with  a  larger  number  of  eggs,  I  think 
the  product  of  two  or  more  females. 

XLIL— PKAIKIE  HEN. 

Tympanuchus  americanus  (REICH.). 

Common  in  the  eastern  to  middle  portion  of  the  State, 
and  spreading  westward  with  its  settlement.  Formerly 
abundant,  but  rapidly  decreasing  in  numbers,  and,  unless 
the  law  protecting  them  is  strictly  enforced,  especially  so 
far  as  it  relates  to  trapping,  they  will  soon  become  exter- 
minated; for  during  the  extreme  cold  winters,  when  the 
ground  is  covered  with  snow,  hunger  overcomes  their  fear, 
and  the  last  one  is  easily  entrapped. 

HABITAT.  Prairies  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  east  to 
Indiana  and  Kentucky ;  north  to  Manitoba ;  west  to  east- 
ern Dakota;  south  to  Texas  and  Louisiana.  (The  eastern 
bird,  T.  cupido,  until  of  late  supposed  to  be  this  species, 
is  now  apparently  extinct,  except  on  the  Island  of  Martha's 
Vineyard.) 

Iris  brown ;  bill  and  claws  dark  brown ;  feet  yellowish. 

—9 


130  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

This  familiar  game  bird  inhabits  our  fertile  prairies, 
seldom  frequenting  the  timbered  lands,  except  during 
sleety  storms,  or  when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow. 
Its  flesh  is  dark,  and  it  is  not  very  highly  esteemed  as  a 
table  bird. 

During  the  early  breeding  season  they  feed  largely  upon 
grasshoppers,  crickets  and  other  forms  of  insect  life,  but 
afterward  chiefly  upon  our  cultivated  grains,  gleaned 
from  the  stubble  in  autumn  and  the  corn  fields  in  winter ; 
they  are  also  fond  of  tender  buds,  berries  and  fruits. 
They  run  about  much  like  our  domestic  fowls,  but  with  a 
more  stately  carriage.  When  flushed,  rise  from  the  ground 
with  a  less  whirring  sound  than  the  Ruffed  Grouse  or 
Bob-white,  and  their  flight  is  not  as  swift,  but  more  pro- 
tracted, and  with  less  apparent  effort,  flapping  and  sailing 
along,  often  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more.  In  the 
fall  the  birds  collect  together,  and  remain  in  flocks  until 
the  warmth  of  spring  quickens  their  blood,  and  awakes 
the  passions  of  love ;  then,  as  with  a  view  to  fairness  and 
the  survival  of  the  fittest,  they  select  a  smooth,  open  court- 
ship ground,  (usually  called  a  "  scratching  ground,") 
where  the  males  assemble  at  the  early  dawn,  to  vie  with 
each  other  in  courage  and  pompous  display,  uttering  at 
the  same  time  their  love  call,  a  loud  booming  noise;  as 
soon  as  this  is  heard  by  the  hen  birds  desirous  of  mating, 
they  quietly  put  in  an  appearance,  squat  upon  the  ground, 
apparently  indifferent  observers,  until  claimed  by  victo- 
rious rivals,  which  they  gladly  accept,  and  receive  their 
caresses.  I  have  often  lain  and  watched  their  amorous 
actions,  described  in  so  lifelike  a  manner  by  Audubon. 
His  statement  that  the  vanquished  and  victors  alike  leave 


BIKDS    OF    KAXSAS  131 

the  grounds  to  search  for  the  females  is  true,  but  he  omits 
to  state  that  many  are  present,  and  mate  upon  the  "  scratch- 
ing grounds."  The  birds  are  not  strictly  true  to  each  other 
during  the  love  season,  and  this  is  true  of  most  birds  when 
the  assistance  of  the  male  is  not  required  in  hatching  and 
rearing  of  the  young. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground  in  the  thick  prairie^ 
grass,  and  at  the  foot  of  bushes  on  the  barren  ground; 
a  hollow  scratched  out  in  the  soil,  and  sparingly  lined  with 
grasses  and  a  few  feathers.  Eggs  eight  to  twelve,  1.68x- 
1.25 ;  tawny  brown,  sometimes  with  an  olive  hue,  and  occa- 
sionally sprinkled  with  brown;  in  form,  rather  oval.  A 
set  of  nine  eggs,  collected  at  Pewaukee,  Wisconsin,  May 
27th,  1883,  measure:  1.65x1.27,  1.64x1.24,  1.66x1.22, 
1.69x1.23,  1.62x1.24,  1.69x1.28,  1.61x1.27,  1.64x1.26, 
1.64x1.25. 

XLIIL— KILLDEEK. 

Aegialitis  vocifera  (LiNN.). 

Summer  resident;  abundant.  Arrive  the  last  of  Feb- 
ruary to  first  of  April;  begin  laying  about  the  middle  of 
April ;  remain  until  late  in  the  fall. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  temperate  North  America; 
breeding  throughout  its  range;  wintering  from  the  Gulf 
coast  and  southern  California,  south  into  northern  South 
America. 

This  noisy,  familiar  species  frequents  alike  the  high 
prairies,  the  low  lands,  margins  of  streams  or  pools  of 
water;  in  fact,  appears  to  be  at  home  wherever  it  may 
alight.  As  a  rule  it  is  easily  approached,  not  being  either 
wise  or  timid.  While  collecting  in  the  winter  of  1889, 


132  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

at  Coatapec,  Mexico,  a  pair  came  daily  to  feed  and  dress 
up  their  feathers  beside  a  little  run  or  gutter  in  the  center 
of  the  narrow  paved  street  opposite  my  room  in  the  hotel, 
regardless  of  the  people  on  the  sidewalks,  only  running  or 
dodging  to  avoid  a  person  crossing,  or  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  pack  mules,  etc.,  that  are  almost  continually 
passing;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  birds  to  alight 
upon  our  streets  and  within  our  dooryards.  Upon  the 
ground  they  run  swiftly,  but  with  too  stiff  legs  to  be 
graceful,  often  squatting  to  rest  or  hide. 

The  parent  birds  both  assist  in  hatching  and  raising 
the  young,  and  are  very  solicitous  and  demonstrative  in 
their  efforts  to  protect  .them ;  and,  in  doing  so,  beautifully 
display,  with  quivering  wings  and  fan-spread  tail,  their 
varied  colors.  Upon  the  wing  they  are  swift  and  easy,  and 
at  all  times  make  known  their  approach  and  presence  in 
a  vociferous  manner.  Their  food  consists  chiefly  of  insect 
life. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  dry  ground,  in  a  small 
depression,  usually  beneath  a  bunch  of  grass  or  weeds,  in 
the  vicinity  of  streams  and  pools  of  water,  lined  sparingly 
with  bits  of  old  grass  or  weeds,  chiefly  about  the  edges. 
Eggs  usually  four,  1.45x1.05 ;  buff  to  drab  white,  spotted 
and  blotched  with  umber  and  blackish  brown;  thickest 
about  larger  end;  pyriform  in  shape,  very  obtuse  at 
larger  end  and  sharply  pointed  at  the  other. 

XLIV.— SPOTTED    SANDPIPER. 

Actitis  macularia  (LixN.). 

Summer  resident;  common;  in  migration,  abundant. 
Arrive  the  middle  of  April  to  first  of  May;  begin  laying 
about  the  middle  of  May;  a  few  remain  into  November. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  133 

HABITAT.  N"orth  America  in  general;  breeding 
throughout  the  temperate  regions  and  north  to  the  Arctic 
coast ;  south  in  winter  to  Brazil  and  lower  Uruguay,  South 
America;  occasionally  in  Europe. 

This  well-known  species  is  quite  common  throughout  its 
range,  and  is  at  home  everywhere  along  the  salt  and  fresh 
water  shores,  and  'not  like  most  of  the  family  restricted  to 
a  northern  clime  for  its  breeding  grounds.  Its  quick,  pe- 
culiar, balancing  motions,  caused  by  bending  the  knees  and 
keeping  time  with  the  head  and  tail,  readily  attract  at- 
tention and  has  given  the  sobriquet  of  "  Teeters "  or 
"  Tipups,"  which  can  never  be  rubbed  out.  Its  flight 
is  also  peculiar,  usually  in  a  low,  coursing  manner  along 
the  shore,  with  alternate  motions  of  the  wings;  at  first 
regular  strokes,  then  with  its  long,  pointed  wings  curving 
downward  and  tremulously  vibrating,  it  sails  along,  utter- 
ing its  usual  "  Peet-weet,"  as  it  goes. 

Their  food  consists  of  insects  and  small  forms  of  life, 
found  at  or  near  the  water's  edge. 

The  parents  both  assist  in  hatching  and  rearing  of  the 
young,  which  leave  the  nest  and  follow,  soon  after  they  are 
hatched.  They  run  swiftly,  and  it  is  surprising  how 
quickly  they  will  disappear  at  the  first  note  of  warning,  by 
hiding  or. squatting  close  to  the  ground ;  and  in  case  of  real 
danger  the  old  birds  flutter  about  in  great  distress,  and  in 
various  ways  try  to  divert  attention  and  draw  the  intruder 
away. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  ground  and  lined  sparingly 
with  grasses  and  leaves ;  usually  on  open,  dry  lands  near 
water,  and  in  a  tuft  of  grass  or  under  a  low  bush ;  (I  once 
found  a  nest  under  an  old  drift  log).  Eggs  four,  l.SOx- 
.93;  creamy  buff  to  olive  drab,  spotted  and  blotched  with 


134  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY    CLASSICS 

dark  brown  and  shell  markings  of  lilac ;  thickest  and  run- 
ning somewhat  together  around  the  large  end ;  in  shape, 
pyriform. 

XLV.— YELLOW-LEGS. 

Totanus  flavipes  (GMEL.). 

Migratory ;  abundant.  Arrive  in  March,  a  few  remain- 
ing until  the  last  of  May;  return  in  August,  and  tarry 
until  early  frosts. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  North  America;  breeding 
from  northern  Illinois  (seldom  in  the  United  States), 
north  to  within  the  Arctic  circle;  south  in  winter  into 
southern  South  America;  accidental  in  Europe. 

Iris  brown;  bill  black,  with  edge  of  base  greenish  yel- 
low ;  legs  and  feet  bright  yellow ;  claws  dark  brown. 

These  birds  are  very  common  in  the  United  States  dur- 
ing migration,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  especially 
during  the  spring  in  the  western  portion ;  and,  although 
considered  rare  on  the  Pacific  side,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  in  suitable  localities  it  will  prove  to  be  a  regular  and 
not  uncommon  migrant.  I  met  with  it  at  Whatcom,  Wash- 
ington (also  at  San  Jose,  Guatemala),  Capt.  Chas.  Ben- 
dire  reports  it  an  abundant  migrant  in  Oregon,  and  it  has 
been  found  breeding  in  Alaska. 

In  habits,  this  noisy  bird  does  not  appear  to  differ  from 
the  preceding  species,  though  less  watchful  and  more  easily 
approached. 

Their  nests  are  mere  depressions  in  the  ground,  occa- 
sionally lined  with  a  few  leaves  or  grasses.  Eggs  usually 
four,  1.69x1.15 ;  cream  to  drab  buff,  spotted  and  blotched 
irregularly  with  varying  shades  of  dark  brown  and  purple 
shell  stains ;  in  shape,  pyriform. 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  135 

XLVL— GREEN  HERON. 

Ardea,  virescens  (Lrxisr.). 

Summer  resident ;  abundant.  Arrive  about  the  middle 
of  April;  begin  laying  about  the  first  of  May;  remain 
until  late  in  the  fall. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  temperate  North  America, 
West  Indies,  Bermudas ;  north  into  Maine,  Dakota  and 
Oregon;  south  into  Venezuela  and  Colombia,  South 
America. 

This  widely-distributed  and  common  species  is  a  sum- 
mer resident,  in  suitable  localities,  throughout  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  Union;  wintering  in  the  Southern 
States  and  southward,  where  it  also  breeds.  A  graceful 
little  beauty,  but  for  some  unknown  reason  is  in  bad  repute, 
hooted  at  and  stoned  by  the  boys  and  called  bad  names; 
it  may  be  because  it  destroys  daily  many  of  the  finny 
tribe,  but  in  this  respect  does  not  differ  from  the  family 
of  which  it  is  one  of  the  least,  and  not  near  as  destructive 
at  the  artificial  fish  ponds  as  the  Night  Heron,  that  during 
the  night  visits  with  noiseless  wing  the  ponds  and  foun- 
tains in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  where  it  feeds  undis- 
turbed, and  as  silently  wings  itself  away. 

These  birds  are  not  shy,  and,  where  not  persecuted,  very 
easily  approached.  Their  feeding  habits  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  Great  Blue,  but  more  strictly  a  nocturnal 
bird;  seldom  found  in  large  flocks,  and,  though  found 
breeding  in  rookeries,  the  mated  pair  as  a  rule  prefer  to 
nest  alone. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  branches  of  trees  and 
bushes  skirting  streams  and  ponds,  and  are  loosely  made 


136  TWENTIETH    CENTDKY    CLASSICS 

of  sticks,  and  lined  with  twigs  in  leaf.  Eggs  four  or  five ; 
average  dimensions  of  three  sets,  two  of  four  and  one  of 
five,  1.52x1.10;  light  greenish  blue;  in  form,  oval  to 
elliptical  oval. 

XLVIL— GKEAT  BLUE   HERON. 
Ardea  herodias  (LiLL.). 

Summer  resident;  quite  common  along  the  streams. 
Arrive  early  in  March;  begin  laying  the  last  of  March. 

HABITAT.  !North  America,  from  the  Arctic  regions 
southward  into  northern  South  America,  Bermudas,  West 
Indies  and  Galapagos. 

These  birds  are  quite  common  in  suitable  localities,  and 
breed  nearly  throughout  their  range;  a  hardy  species, 
that  only  leave  their  northern  resorts  as  the  ice  closes  their 
natural  feeding  grounds.  They  are  solitary  and  silent 
except  during  the  breeding  season,  and  even  then  are  not 
social,  though  often  nesting  in  communities  and  with  others 
of  the  family ;  they  seem  to  have  no  interest  in  common, 
only  coming  together  because  the  location  suits  them,  and 
at  such  times  fight  fiercely  for  a  favorite  branch  or  place 
for  a  nest;  while  mated,  however,  the  pairs  are  true  to 
each  other,  and  share  alike  in  the  duties  of  nest  building, 
hatching  and  rearing  the  young.  The  latter  is  a  laborious 
work,  and  requires  constant  labor  during  the  day  and  way 
into  the  night,  even  where  food  is  abundant,  for  their 
growth  is  rapid  and  digestive  organs  great ;  but  when  they 
have  only  their  own  appetites  to  satisfy  they  generally 
feed  at  morn  and  eve,  resting  during  the  day  in  swampy 
lands  and  treetops  skirting  the  waters. 

Their  food  consists  chiefly  of  fishes,  which  they  usually 


BIKDS    OF    KANSAS  137 

secure  by  standing  motionless  in  the  water,  with  bill  poised, 
patiently  awaiting  their  near  approach,  when  they  are 
pierced  with  a  rapid  stroke  of  the  bill,  and  quickly  swal- 
lowed, head  foremost.  They  also  feed  on  frogs,  meadow 
mice — in  fact  upon  all  small  forms  of  digestible  life. 

These  birds  have  great  strength  of  wing,  and  their  flight 
in  migration  is  high  and  protracted ;  at  other  times,  unless 
going  a  great  distance,  they  flop  leisurely  along  near  the 
water  or  land.  In  flight  the  head  is  drawn  back  upon  the 
breast,  with  legs  extended  rudder-like,  in  line  with  the 
body. 

Their  nests  are  placed  on  the  branches  of  high  trees, 
growing  upon  swampy  lands  and  along  the  streams;  in 
localities  destitute  of  trees,  upon  bushes,  rocks  and  the 
ground ;  in  all  cases  a  flat,  bulky  structure  of  sticks,  lined 
sparingly  with  grasses.  Eggs  three  to  six,  usually  four; 
pale  greenish  blue;  varying  somewhat  in  size;  in  form, 
rather  elliptical  oval.  A  set  of  four,  taken  April  12th, 
1881,  on  an  island  in  Nueces  Bay,  measure:  2.40x1.75, 
2.60x1.86,  2.65x1.80,  2.65x1.86. 

XLVIIL— SANDHILL   CRANE. 

Orus  mexicana  (MULL.). 

Migratory;  common.  Arrive  about  the  middle  of 
March  to  first  of  April;  return  early  in  October;  a  few 
occasionally  remain  as  late  as  November  20th. 

HABITAT.  North  in  the  British  possessions  to  Mani- 
toba, but  chiefly  within  the  United  States,  and  west  from 
the  Mississippi  valley  to  the  Pacific  coast,  south  into  cen- 
tral Mexico,  and  eastward  along  the  Gulf  coast  to  Florida 
and  Georgia,  breeding  in  suitable  localities  nearly  through- 
out its  range. 


138  TWENTIETH    CENTUBY    CLASSICS 

These  birds,  in  their  habits,  are  similar  to  the  Whoop- 
ing, but  much  more  numerous.  Their  loud,  modulating, 
sonorous  croak  announces  their  presence,  and  is  often  heard 
during  the  night  as  well  as  by  day. 

During  courtship  and  the  early  breeding  season,  their 
actions  and  antics  at  times  are  ludicrous  in  the  extreme, 
bowing  and  leaping  high  in  the  air,  hopping,  skipping  and 
circling  about  with  drooping  wings  anl  croaking  whoop, 
an  almost  indescribable  dance  and  din,  in  which  the  fe- 
males (an  exception  to  the  rule)  join,  all  working  them- 
selves up  into  a  fever  of  excitement,  only  equaled  by  an 
Indian  war  dance,  and,  like  the  same,  it  only  stops  when 
the  last  one  is  exhausted. 

Eggs  two.  A  set  collected  May  25th,  1880,  near  James- 
town, Dakota,  from  a  nest  on  a  marsh  in  a  tall  growth  of 
rushes,  a  level  platform  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  made 
of  flags,  leaves  and  rushes,  are,  in  dimensions:  3.68x2.25, 
3.82x2.40 ;  ground  color  pale  olive  buff,  spotted  and 
splashed  with  sepia  brown  and  purple  shell  stains,  thickest 
at  larger  end;  in  form,  elliptical  oval. 

XLIX.— AMERICAN  COOT. 
Fulica  americana  ((TMEL.). 

Summer  resident;  not  uncommon;  during  migration 
abundant.  Arrive  the  middle  of  March  to  the  middle  of 
April;  begin  laying  the  last  of  May;  a  few  linger  late 
into  November. 

HABITAT.  The  whole  of  North  America,  from  Green- 
land and  Alaska  southward  to  northern  South  America, 
Bermudas,  West  Indies  (and  Trinidad?). 

This  species  is  not  very  common  on  the  Atlantic  coast, 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  139 

north  of  the  more  southern  States,  but  abundant  west- 
ward. It  breeds  occasionally  throughout  its  range,  but 
chiefly  from  latitude  43°  to  55°  ;  wintering  in  large  flocks 
in  the  Southern  States  and  Mexico,  decreasing  in  numbers 
southward. 

These  birds  are  in  many  respects  like  their  cousins,  the 
Gallinules,  which  they  so  closely  resemble ;  inhabiting  the 
edges  of  swampy,  boggy  ponds,  where  covered  with  a  rank 
growth  of  reeds  and  rushes.  They  differ,  however,  in 
being  social,  going  in  flocks,  and  in  preferring  the  open 
water  in  which  to  sport  and  rest,  or  muskrat  houses  and 
bare  places  of  land  to  rest  and  dress  their  feathers  upon; 
keeping,  during  the  breeding  season,  near  their  reedy 
cover,  into  which  they  quickly  swim  and  hide,  in  case  of 
danger ;  but  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  preparatory  to  migra- 
tion, they  often  assemble  out  upon  the  open  waters. 

They  swim  and  walk  with  a  nodding  motion  of  the  head. 
I  have  noticed  them  occasionally  dive  for  food,  but  they 
are  not  expert  divers,  and  seldom  do  so  except  when 
closely  pressed  and  unable  to  fly. 

Its  flesh  is  dark  and  not  good  eating,  and  its  feathers  not 
soft  and  downy,  therefore  not  sought  after  by  the  pot 
hunter,  nor  considered  a  game  bird  by  the  sportsman; 
and  for  these  reasons  the  birds  are  not  shy,  and  are  easily 
approached.  They  rise  from  the  water  in  a  laborious, 
running,  flapping  manner,  but,  when  fairly  in  the  air,  fly 
quite  steadily,  with  neck  and  feet  well  stretched  out,  the 
head  usually  inclining  downward  and  the  feet  a  little  up- 
ward. At  times,  before  mating,  they  are  quite  noisy. 

Their  food  consists  of  aquatic  insects,  snails,  tender 
water  plants,  buds,  blossoms  and  seeds  of  different  plants, 
etc. 


140  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

Their  nests  are  placed  in  tall  weeds  and  rushes  growing 
in  shallow,  muddy  places,  in  ponds  and  sloughs ;  built  on 
the  tops  of  the  broken-down  old  growth  that  forms  a  plat- 
form just  above  the  water;  quite  a  deep,  hollow  nest,  com- 
posed of  short,  bitten-off  stems  of  the  weeds  and  rushes. 
Eggs  usually  eight  or  nine — I  have  seen  eleven  in  a  nest, 
1.92x1.32;  cream  white,  in  some  cases  pale  olive  drab, 
thickly  and  evenly  speckled  with  dark  brown;  in  form, 
oval  to  ovate.  A  set  of  six  eggs,  taken  from  a  nest  on  a 
marsh,  near  Horicon,  Wisconsin,  are,  in  dimensions: 
1.90x1.29,  .1.92x1.33,  1.92x1.32,  1.90x1.30,  1.92x1.29, 
1.92x1.33. 

L.— CANVAS-BACK. 

Aytliya  vallisneria  (WiLs.). 

Migratory;  irregular;  not  uncommon.  Arrive  early 
in  March — my  notes  show  the  capture  of  one  February 
22d ;  return  in  October. 

HABITAT.  North  America  in  general;  breeding  far 
northward. 

This  highly-esteemed  Duck  is  exclusively  a  North 
American  species ;  they  have  been  found  breeding  on  the 
inland  waters  from  Oregon  and  Manitoba  to  Fort  Yukon, 
Alaska,  and  south  in  winter  .to  Guatemala.  The  birds  are 
quite  rare  in  the  northeastern  States,  increasing  in  num- 
bers westward  to  the  Pacific  coast;  some  seasons  very 
common.  As  they  associate  in  large  flocks  upon  their 
feeding  grounds,  are  generally  thought  to  be  more  abun- 
dant than  they  really  are. 

This  species,  so  highly  prized  as  a  game  bird,  is  entitled 
to  more  than  a  passing  notice ;  and  I  know  that  I  cannot 


BIRDS    OF   KANSAS  141 

please  the  reader  better  than  to  quote  from  Wilson's  inter- 
esting description  of  its  habits,  wherein  he  says : 

"  The  Canvas-back  Duck  arrives  in  the  United  States 
from  the  north  about  the  middle  of  October;  a  few  de- 
scend to  the  Hudson  and  Delaware,  but  the  greater  body 
of  these  birds  resort  to  the  numerous  rivers  belonging  to 
and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  particu- 
larly the  Susquehanna,  the  Patapsco,  Potomac  and  James 
rivers,  which  appear  to  be  their  general  winter  rendezvous. 
Beyond  this  to  the  south,  I  can  find  no  certain  account 
of  them.  At  the  Susquehanna,  they  are  called  Canvas- 
backs;  on  the  Potomac,  White-backs,  and  on  the  James 
river,  Shelldrakes.  They  are  seldom  found  a  great  dis- 
tance up  any  of  these  rivers,  or  even  in  the  salt  water  bay ; 
but  in  that  particular  part  of  the  tide  water  where  a  cer- 
tain grass-like  plant  grows,  on  the  roots  of  which  they 
feed.  This  plant,  which  is  said  to  be  a  species  of  the  Val- 
lisneria,  grows  on  fresh-water  shoals  of  from  seven  to  nine 
feet  (but  never  where  these  are  occasionally  dry),  in  long, 
narrow  grass-like  blades  of  "four  or  five  feet  in  length ;  the 
root  is  white,  and  has  some  resemblance  to  small  celery. 
This  grass  is  in  many  places  so  thick  that  a  boat  can  with 
difficulty  be  rowed  through  it,  it  so  impedes  the  oars. 
The  shores  are  lined  with  large  quantities  of  it,  torn  up 
by  the  Ducks  and  drifted  up  by  the  winds,  lying  like  hay 
in  windrows.  Wherever  this  plant  grows  in  abundance 
the  Canvas-backs  may  be  expected  either  to  pay  occasional 
visits  or  to  make  it  their  regular  residence  during  the 
winter.  It  occurs  in  some  parts  of  the  Hudson,  in  the 
Delaware,  near  Gloucester,  a  few  miles  below  Philadel- 
phia, and  in  most  of  the  rivers  that  fall  into  the  Chesa- 


142  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY   CLASSICS 

peake,  to  each,  of  which  particular  places  these  Ducks 
resort;  while  in  waters  unprovided  with  this  nutritive 
plant  they  are  altogether  unknown. 

"  On  the  arrival  of  these  birds  in  the  Susquehanna, 
near  Havre  de  Grace,  they  are  generally  lean,  but  such  is 
the  abundance  of  their  favorite  food,  that  towards  the 
middle  of  November  they  are  in  pretty  good  order.  They 
are  excellent  divers,  and  swim  with  great  speed  and  agility. 
They  sometimes  assemble  in  such  multitudes  as  to  cover 
several  acres  of  the  river,  and  when  they  rise  suddenly, 
produce  a  noise  resembling  thunder.  They  float  about  the 
shoals,  diving  and  tearing  up  the  grass  by  the  roots,  which 
is  the  only  part  they  eat.  They  are  extremely  shy,  and 
can  rarely  be  approached,  unless  by  strategem.  When 
wounded  in  the  wing,  they  dive  to  such  prodigious  dis- 
tances, and  with  such  rapidity,  continuing  it  so  persever- 
ingly,  and  with  such  cunning  and  active  vigor,  as  almost 
always  to  render  the  pursuit  hopeless.  From  the  great 
demand  for  these  Ducks,  and  the  high  price  they  uniformly 
bring  in  market,  various  modes  are  practiced  to  get  within 
gunshot  of  them.  The  most  successful  way  is  said  to  be 
decoying  them  to  the  shore  by  means  of  a  dog,  while  the 
gunner  lies  concealed  in  a  proper  situation.  The  dog, 
if  properly  trained,  plays  back  and  forwards  along  the 
margin  of  the  water,  and  the  Ducks,  observing  his  man- 
oeuvres, enticed  perhaps  by  curiosity,  gradually  approach 
the  shore,  until  they  are  sometimes  within  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  of  the  spot  where  the  gunner  lies  concealed,  and 
from  which  he  rakes  them,  first  on  the  water,  and  then  as 
they  rise.  This  method  is  called  '  tolling  them  in.'  If 
the  Ducks  seem  difficult  to  decoy,  any  glaring  object,  such 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  143 

as  a  red  handkerchief,  is  fixed  around  the  dog's  middle 
or  to  his  tail,  and  this  rarely  fails  to  attract  them.  Some- 
times, by  moonlight,  the  sportsman  directs  his  skiff 
towards  a  flock  whose  position  he  has  previously  ascer- 
tained, keeping  within  the  projecting  shadow  of  some 
wood,  bank  or  headland,  and  paddles  along  so  silently 
and  imperceptibly  as  often  to  approach  within  fifteen  or 
twenty  yards  of  a  flock  of  many  thousands,  among  whom 
he  generally  makes  great  slaughter. 

"Many  other  strategems  are  practised,  and  indeed 
every  plan  that  the  ingenuity  of  the  experienced  sports- 
man can  suggest,  to  approach  within  gunshot  of  these 
birds;  but  of  all  the  modes  pursued,  none  intimidate 
them  so  much  as  shooting  them  by  night;  and  they  soon 
abandon  the  place  where  they  have  been  thus  repeatedly 
shot  at.  During  the  day  they  are  dispersed  about,  but, 
towards  evening  collect  in  large  flocks,  and  come  into  the 
mouths  of  creeks,  where  they  often  ride,  as  at  anchor, 
with  their  head  under  their  wing  asleep,  there  being  al- 
ways sentinels  awake,  ready  to  raise  an  alarm  on  the  least 
appearance  of  danger.  Even  when  feeding  and  diving  in 
small  parties,  the  whole  never  go  down  at  one  time,  but 
some  are  still  left  above  on  the  lookout. 

"  When  winter  sets  in  severely,  and  the  river  is  frozen, 
the  Canvas-back  retreats  to  its  confluence  with  the  bay, 
occasionally  frequenting  air-holes  in  the  ice,  which  are 
sometimes  made  for  the  purpose,  immediately  above  their 
favorite  grass,  to  entice  them  within  gunshot  of  the  hut 
or  bush  which  is  usually  fixed  at  a  proper  distance,  and 
where  the  gunner  lies  concealed,  ready  to  take  advantage 
of  their  distress.  A  Mr.  Hill,  who  lives  near  James 


144  TWENTIETH    CENTUKY   CLASSICS 

River,  at  a  place  called  Herring  Creek,  informs  me  that 
one  severe  winter,  he  and  another  person  broke  a  hole  in 
the  ice  about  twenty  by  forty  feet,  immediately  over  a 
shoal  of  grass,  and  took  their  stand  on  the  shore  in  a  hut 
of  brush,  each  having  three  guns  well  loaded  with  large 
shot.  The  Ducks,  which  were  flying  up  and  down  the 
river  in  great  extremity,  soon  crowded  to  this  place,  so 
that  the  whole  open  space  was  not  only  covered  with  them, 
but  vast  numbers  stood  on  the  ice  around  it.  They  had 
three  rounds,  firing  both  at  once,  and  picked  up  eighty- 
eight  Canvas-Backs,  and  might  have  collected  more  had 
they  been  able  to  get  to  the  extremity  of  the  ice  after  the 
wounded  ones.  In.  the  severe  winter  of  1879-80,  the 
grass  on  the  roots  of  which  these  birds  feed  was  almost 
wholly  destroyed  in  the  James  River.  In  the  month  of 
January,  the  wind  continued  to  blow  from  west-northwest 
for  twenty-one  days,  which  caused  such  low  tides  in  the 
river  that  the  grass  froze  to  the  ice  everywhere,  and,  a 
thaw  coming  on  suddenly,  the  whole  was  raised  by  the 
roots  and  carried  off  by  the  freshet.  The  next  winter  a 
few  of  these  Ducks  were  seen,  but  they  soon  went  away 
again;  and,  for  many  years  after,  they  continued  to  be 
scarce,  and  even  to  the  present  day,  in  the  opinion  of  my 
informant,  have  never  been  so  plenty  as  before. 

"  The  Canvas-back,  in  the  rich  juicy  tenderness  of  its 
flesh  and  its  delicacy  of  flavor,  stands  unrivaled  by  the 
whole  of  its  tribe  in  this  or  perhaps  any  other  quarter  of 
the  world.  Those  killed  in  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake 
are  generally  esteemed  superior  to  all  others,  doubtless 
from  the  great  abundance  of  their  favorite  food  which 
these  rivers  produce.  At  our  public  dinners,  hotels  and 


BIRDS    OF    KANSAS  145 

particular  entertainments,  the  Canvas-backs  are  universal 
favorites.  They  not  only  grace  but  dignify  the  table,  and 
their  very  name  conveys  to  the  imagination  of  the  eager 
epicure  the  most  comfortable  and  exhilarating  ideas. 
Hence,  on  such  occasions,  it  has  not  been  uncommon  to 
pay  from  one  to  three  dollars  a  pair  for  these  Ducks ;  and, 
indeed,  at  such  times,  if  they  can  they  must  be  had,  what- 
ever may  be  the  price. 

"  The  Canvas-back  will  feed  readily  on  grain,  especially 
wheat,  and  may  be  decoyed  to  particular  places  by  bait- 
ing them  with  that  grain  for  several  successive  days.  Some 
few  years  since,  a  vessel  loaded  with  wheat  was  wrecked 
near  the  entrance  to  Great  Egg  Harbor,  in  the  autumn, 
and  went  to  pieces.  The  wheat  floated  out  in  vast  quan- 
tities, and  the  whole  surface  of  the  bay  was,  in  a  few  days, 
covered  with  Ducks  of  a  kind  altogether  unknown  to  the 
people  of  that  quarter.  The  gunners  of  the  neighborhood 
collected  in  boats,  in  every  direction,  shooting  them;  and 
so  successful  were  they,  that,  as  Mr.  Beasley  informs  me, 
two  hundred  and  forty  were  killed  in  on©  day,  and  sold 
among  the  neighbors  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents  apiece 
without  the  feathers.  The  wounded  ones  were  generally 
abandoned,  as  being  too  difficult  to  come  up  with.  They 
continued  about  for  three  weeks,  and  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  a  continual  cannonading  was  heard  from 
every  quarter.  The  gunners  called  them  Sea  Ducks. 
They  were  all  Canvas-backs,  at  that  time  on  their  way 
from  the  north,  when  this  floating  feast  attracted  their 
attention,  and  for  awhile  arrested  them  in  their  course. 
A  pair  of  these  very  Ducks  I  myself  bought  in  Philadel- 
phia market  at  the  time,  from  an  Egg  Harbor  gunner, 


146  TWENTIETH    CENTURY    CLASSICS 

and  never  met  with  their  superior  either  in  weight  or 
excellence  of  flesh.  When  it  was  known  among  these 
people  the  loss  they  had  sustained  in  selling  for  twenty- 
five  cents  what  would  have  brought  them  from  a  dollar  to 
a  dollar  and  a  half  a  pair,  universal  surprise  and  regret 
were  naturally  enough  excited." 

The  nests  of  this  bird  are  usually  found  in  thick  growths 
of  grass,  reeds  and  rushes  growing  in  shallow  water.  They 
are  made  of  grasses  and  material  at  hand,  are  built  from 
the  ground  up,  and  often  quite  bulky,  and  are  lined  with 
down.  Eggs  usually  seven  or  eight,  2.50x1.76;  pale 
grayish  olive  green ;  in  form,  oval  to  ovate. 

LL— DOUBLE-CEESTED   CORMORANT. 

Phalacrocorax  dilopTius  (Sw.  &  RICH.). 

Migratory;  not  uncommon.  Arrive  the  last  of  March 
to  the  first  of  April.  To  be  looked  for  in  the  old  deep 
channels  of  the  rivers  in  the  low  timbered  lands.  Return 
in  October. 

HABITAT.  Northern  North  America;  south  in  winter 
to  the  Gulf  coast ;  breeding  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  north- 
ward, and  westward  to  Manitoba. 

The  birds  are  abundant  on  the  northeast  coast,  decreas- 
ing in  numbers  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They 
have  been  reported  west  of  the  Rockies,  and  breeding 
there,  but  the  specimens  taken  on  the  Pacific  side  prove 
to  be  an  intermediate  race  between  this  species  and  albo- 
ciliatus. 

The  birds  subsist  chiefly  upon  fish,  which  they  capture 
by  diving  and  pursuing  beneath  the  water,  with  a  speed 
the  swiftest  of  the  finny  tribe  seldom  escape,  coming  to 


SIRDS  OF  KANSAS  14 

the  surface  with  their  capture,  tossing  the  same  in  the  air 
and  catching  it  head  first  as  it  falls,  so  that  the  fins  will 
not  prevent  its  passing  into  the  stomach.  The  throat 
readily  expands  and  enables  them  to  swallow  fish  larger 
than  the  neck  in  its  normal  condition.  I  have  often  no- 
ticed the  birds  when  resting  upon  a  log,  or  perched  upon 
a  limb  over  the  water,  suddenly  drop  and  disappear  be- 
neath its  surface  at  the  sight  of  a  fish,  catching  it,  however, 
in  a  fair  chase,  and  not,  like  the  Gannet  or  Kingfisher, 
by  a  plunge  upon  their  prey. 

All  the  birds  of  this  family  are  voracious  eaters,  and  the 
craving  for  food  makes  them  active  hunters,  and  they  are 
successfully  used  in  many  places  by  the  fishermen,  who 
tie  a  string  around  their  neck  to  prevent  their  swallowing 
the  fish  they  catch.  The  Chinese  especially  rear  and  train 
the  birds  upon  their  boats  for  fishing,  with  great  success. 
Le  Comte  says :  "  To  this  end  they  are  educated  as  men 
rear  up  spaniels  or  hawks,  and  one  man  can  easily  manage 
a  hundred.  The  fisher  carries  them  out  into  the  lake, 
perched  on  the  gunnel  of  the  boat,  where  they  continue 
tranquil,  and  expecting  his  order  with  patience.  When 
arrived  at  the  proper  place,  at  the  first  signal  given  each 
flies  a  different  way  to  fulfill  the  task  assigned  it.  It  is 
very  pleasant  on  this  occasion  to  behold  with  what  saga- 
city they  portion  out  the  lake  or  the  canal  where  they  are 
upon  duty.  They  hunt  about,  they  plunge,  they  rise  an 
hundred  times  to  the  surface,  until  they  have  at  last 
found  their  prey.  Then  they  seize  it  with'  their  beak  by 
the  middle,  and  carry  it  without  fail  to  their  master. 
When  the  fish  is  too  large  they  then  give  each  other  mutual 
assistance — one  seizes  it  by  the  head,  the  other  by  the  tail, 


14:8  TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 

and  in  this  manner  carry  it  to  the  boat  together.  There 
the  boatman  stretches  out  one  of  his  long*  oars,  on  which 
they  perch,  and  being  delivered  of  their  burden,  they  fly 
off  to  pursue  their  sport.  When  they  are  wearied  he  lets 
them  rest  for  awhile;  but  they  are  never  fed  till  their 
work  is  over.  In  this  manner  they  supply  a  very  plenti- 
ful table ;  but  still  their  natural  gluttony  can  not  be  're- 
claimed even  by  education.  They  have  always,  while  they 
fish,  the  same  string  fastened  around  their  throats  to 
prevent  them  from  devouring  their  prey,  as  otherwise  they 
would  at  once  satiate  themselves  and  discontinue  the  pur- 
suit the  moment  they  had  filled  their  bellies." 

The  birds  breed  in  communities,  and  where  the  ground 
or  rocks  will  admit,  their  nests  are  placed  close  together. 
On  the  last  of  July,  1880,  I  found  the  birds  breeding  in 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  on  the  sides  of  the  cliffs  on 
Bonaventure  Isle,  and  on  the  top  of  Perce  Rock.  The 
latter  cannot  be  climbed,  and  nearly  all  the  nests  upon  the 
Isle  were  beyond  reach;  those  examined,  however,  had 
young  birds  from  half  to  nearly  full  grown,  and  hundreds 
of  little  fellows  could  be  seen  either  upon  their  nests  or 
standing  near  by  upon  the  rock. 

The  birds  are  very  filthy,  and  the  stench  about  their 
breeding  grounds  sickening.  Their  nests  are  made  of 
sticks,  moss  from  the  rocks,  and  seaweed.  Eggs  three  or 
four,  2.50x1.56 ;  pale  bluish  green,  coated  with  a  white 
chalky  substance,  but  more  or  less  stained  in  their  dirty 
nests ;  in  form',  elongate  ovate. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  BIRDS  MENTIONED. 


I.  Perching  Birds  (Passeres). 

(a)  The  Song  Perchers. 
Bluebird. 
Chickadee. 
Catbird.    • 

Brown  Thrasher. 
Yellow-throated  Vireo. 
Barn  Swallow. 
.Tunco. 

Meadow  Lark. 
Cowbird. 
Orchard  Oriole. 
Crow. 

(b)  The  Songless  Perchers. 
Kingbird. 

II.  Picarian  Birds  (Picarise). 

Whippoorwill. 
Swift. 
Kingfisher. 
Woodpecker. 

III.  Birds  of  Prey  (Raptores). 

Owl. 

Vulure  (Turkey  Buzzard). 

IV.  Columbine  Birds  (Columbse) 

Dove. 

V.  Scratching  Birds  (Galllnse). 

Domestic  Chicken. 
Quail. 

VI.  Shore  Birds  (Limicolse). 

Snipe. 
Sandpiper. 

(149) 


Robin. 

Brown  Creeper. 

Wren. 

Oven-bird. 

White-humped  Shrike. 

American  Goldfinch. 

Fox  Sparrow. 

Bobolink. 

Baltimore  Oriole. 

Blue  Jay. 


Fly-catchers. 


Nighthawk. 

Hummingbird. 

Cuckoo. 


Hawk. 
Eagle. 

Pigeon. 
Prairie  Chicken. 

Plover. 


150 


TWENTIETH    CENTURY   CLASSICS 


VII.  Heron  Family  (Herodiones) . 

Heron. 

VIII.  Crane  Family  (Alectorides) . 
Crane.  Rail. 
Coot. 

IX.  Family  of  Geese  and  Ducks  (Lamellirostres) . 

Domestic  Ducks  and  Geese.        Wild  Ducks  and  Geese. 

X.  Totipalmate  Swimmers  (Steganopodes). 

Pelican.  Comorant. 

XI.  Long-winged  Swimmers  (Longipennes) . 

Gull.  Tern. 

XII.  Diving  Birds  (Pygopodes). 

Grebe. 


4508     1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9-25m-8,'46  (9852)  444 


THE  LIBRARY 

i  IPORNfl 


684      V 


